The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Synopsis

Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.

Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers.

Why are we born? Why do we die? Why do we spend so much time between wearing digital watches? For all the answers stick your thumb to the stars. And don't forget to bring a towel!

Book Review of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The last time last time I read this was over 10 years ago when I was in highschool and it must have been one of (if not the) first sci-fi books I've ever read! I can clearly remember that I absolutely loved it and directly read all the sequels. Of course I could still remember the major plot points but past that, very little. So I was happy when my bookclub decided to pick this up for our January read and I could see if it's still as good as in my memory.

Right from the start, the novel goes all in with the dry British humor and complete absurdity I remembered. The first few chapters, Arthur and Fords last experiences on earth, were actually my favorite ones of the whole book.

After that, some of the slower parts almost felt like they dragged a bit, but that was mostly because non of the major plot points, absurd revelations or fun twists were really a surprise to me.

Overall, I was actually astonished to realize how well this book has aged. Even though it is over 40 years old, it doesn't read like it at all. Not in terms of language or style, and especially not in terms of science, which in my experience is often a problem in sci-fi that old and to me can make a book quite tedious to read.

I can't imagine that there's many readers out there that haven't read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, especially not any who'd stumble upon this little blog, but if you are one of those rare individuals, I can only recommend picking it up!