Book Review: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Way back in prehistoric times (middle school), I tried to read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy but just couldn’t get through it. I was mostly reading Hunger Games-adjacent dystopian novels at the time, so this book was just too hard for me to follow. Last week, I borrowed this book from a friend’s bookshelf to give it another shot, and I loved it!
This book is a silly adventure through space and time filled with comedy, philosophy, and inventive characters. It reminds me of all the best parts of Kurt Vonnegut’s books without their darkness. It’s short, sweet, and completely absurd.
The Earth is run by mice, whales appear out of nowhere, and all information about the universe is contained in an electronic book called The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. After the Earth ends because of a bureaucratic misstep, an average man from Earth and an alien are launched into a hitchhiking journey. It’s a hilarious premise, and Adams follows through on it with humor and wit.
I read a critique somewhere on Goodreads that Adams writes just to execute one-liners, and that may be true, but I don’t mind at all. I might read this book again just to see what jokes I missed the first time over. He manages to keep nihilism light, and makes the idea of a meaningless world seem endearing and amusing.
The overall message of this book really resonated with me as a chronically high-strung person. Douglas encourages the reader to embrace life’s ridiculous nature, and this book was a lovely reminder not to take everything so seriously.
