Mostly good: on ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ (the book)
Hello! I hope, whoever and wherever you are, you’re having a most beautiful day and that you’re staying sane amidst the chaos that is COVID-19. For those especially who are working, I hope you are safe and well. In my literary conquest, I decided it was finally time for me to delve into Douglas Adams’ wondrously absurd world. The trilogy in four parts has sat in my bookshelf for so long; honestly, given I love absurdist fiction, it’s only my sheer lack of reading at late that’s kept me so long. (Sidenote: Absurdist fiction is my favourite genre for writing short stories by far. I’m not biased, but I highly recommend you check out The Starry-Eyed Child by a most amazing up and coming writer!)
The short version? I enjoyed this book… for the most part. The characters are fantastic – Marvin stands out as my clear favourite, his brand of humour my favourite throughout. There were also lines throughout that had me chuckling. And of course, Adams had one of the most wonderfully unique and fantastic minds in the literary world to date. Still, when I rated this book on Goodreads, I only gave it three stars.
Truthfully, I found much of the writing on the denser side. Dense, and not as funny as I was hoping. What I’d heard about this book was about it being a flawless masterpiece – one of the funniest articles of literature in existence. After reading it, I‘m scratching my head. I mean, the world is remarkable, but the execution isn’t laugh-out-loud funny, and it isn’t the best writing I’ve encountered. And… not a lot happens here. The book isn’t particularly long, but that’s only part of why I’m sitting here and wondering what else I’m to write about. All of it – Arthur and co., the story, the humour, the writing – it’s just good. I’m not overcome by the need to pour out 2,000 words to lay out every element here. In the motions and the aftermath, I was compelled to write The Starry-Eyed Child, but it’s been almost a week since I finished it, and the book is essentially all blended into “good” in my memory. The only thing about this book that was particularly memorable, beyond the absurdist-ness of it, was the character, Marvin.
Marvin being the ultimate plastic pal who’s fun to be with! Taken from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy TV series
I don’t know, folks. Maybe I’ll read the next instalments down the track, or perhaps I’ll explore this world in the other formats. I came into this review wanting to write a lot more, but with this book, the words simply aren’t there. I feel almost uninspired roughly a week down the line — I can only imagine how that will wane as time carries on further.
In short, a good enough book, but not much more than that. I think the best contribution this story offers is its impact on the literary world. It’s certainly existed in its many, many, many forms for the better. Given the general consensus for this story, I feel like I’m committing some sort of literary crime by not liking it more. Kind folks, let me know your thoughts on this book. Did I miss something here? Maybe I closed my eyes while reading, and that’s why I wasn’t blown away like I thought I’d be. But hey, at least I got a short story out of it!
But that’s all from me today. Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a most beautiful day!
— Charis.
