It's Sam, back with another novel to comment on: Douglas Adams- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. In essence, the plot goes as follows. Arthur Dent, a British gentleman going about his day, lives on planet Earth. Unfortunately, in two minutes, Earth will be destroyed to make room for an intergalactic highway (the plans for which were on display for years in Alpha Centauri). Arthur gets whisked away with his alien friend, Ford Prefect, and into the wacky and wonderful galaxy, where devious schemes are at play.
The Hitchhiker's Guide is different from the other books I've reviewed with my loud opinion, and thus I think of it differently. I am a hard science fiction fan, meaning I prefer books with gritty twists and scientific facts. This book, on the other hand, has nothing scientific in it at all, with the events being very improbable, only focusing on the fantastical characters and ironic humor to make it interesting.
The uniqueness of Hitchhiker's Guide also turns up everywhere in pop culture. Everyone knows the Secret to Life, the Universe and Everything is 42, which was discovered by Adams in this book. Similarly, the simple phrase "Don't panic!" was popularized by this book. Due to many more of these references, I'd recommend at least listening to the book once to understand its iconic status.
Despite the praise the book gets from many people, I actually don't really like the campy writing style present in the book, but that's my personal opinion. Others may appreciate the over-the-top writing style the book presents as a change from what they normally read. If you're looking for a humorous, brief read, look no further, but remember a towel!
I've definitely heard of this book before, but I've always thought it was mostly about scientific facts until I read this. The science-fiction storyline sounds cool and it's pretty impressive to see all of these popular phrases that originated from this book. If this book has an over-the-top writing style too then I'm curious to learn more about it!
ReplyDeleteHi, nice post. I think it's cool how some phrases come from this book. I think that the book sounds cool, and I liked how you were honest in your review.
ReplyDeleteHey Sam, pretty interesting book to talk about. a scientific book that doesn't talk about science would be something like that. Personally I like informative books that teach you something after reading them, but this books look fun enough to read, as it is funny and sounds interesting and unique. Thanks for the review Sam.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading! Hitchhiker's Guide is pretty short, so if you need something for a weekend or car trip it'll be good.
DeleteI remember watching the movie adaptation, but I always forget everything about the book except that the secret to everything is 42. Perhaps reading the novel version would help me remember the story better. I'm also curious about the over-the top writing style, so the novel definitely sounds interesting. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteI liked this post a lot. My dad loves this book and always tried to get me to read it but I never did. After reading this blog I'm slightly more intrigued. I love a good laugh and this book seems like it can do just that!
ReplyDeleteIt's a short read, I'd encourage you to take a few hours for it.
Delete"Campy" is such an incredible way to describe the writing 😭 I remember reading this book when I was maybe 10 and being so conflicted about whether I liked it or not.
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to read this book, and your post makes me want to even more. Sometimes the unimaginable is just what I need.
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