Book info

• Title The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
• Author Douglas Adams
• Year 1979
• Genre Science Fiction

It's an ordinary Thursday lunchtime for Arthur Dent until his house gets demolished. The Earth follows shortly afterwards to make way for a new hyperspace express route, and his best friend has just announced that he's an alien. At this moment, they're hurtling through space with nothing but their towels and an innocuous-looking book inscribed, in large friendly letters, with the words: DON'T PANIC. The weekend has only just begun...

Thoughts

It always worries me when I attempt to read something with such a cult following, that is so ingrained in the culture I know without me really knowing too much about it. Normally, what happens is that I then don’t like it and people shout at me.

Thankfully, I really enjoyed reading this one. I was actually expecting it to be more madcap than it was, it had far more story to it than I had anticipated. I really enjoyed the satire, the imagination, and seeing things as they originally were (42, thanks for all the fish, etc).

Clearly, the cult part of it has passed me by now, so I can’t say that I love it as much as the most passionate fans do, but I found it engaging. The creativity involved speaks to me, and I’m interested to read the second book too.

Rating: 5 / 5