Don’t Panic. Yes, this is visible in big bold letters on the cover of this book (of course not literally)
Those who know what a tough job writing is, will appreciate that getting your reader to giggle and roll with laughter is no easy feat. Douglas Adams’ writing does it with a lot of ease. Not one statement gives you the impression that the writer is trying too hard to make you smile. You don’t even need to wait for the story to start, the preface itself makes you cry laughing. Here, the writer is just telling you how he came up with this concept. The story, well, that just makes you read and laugh and laugh till your eyes start watering.
The imagination is impressive, it takes you to places and situations you could never think of. The humor is inherent in the weird situations that Arthur Dent finds himself in. There is also a movie, which is enjoyable, but deviates a lot from the book. The movie only covers the first part in this trilogy of four.
As for the series, the first, The hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy, is the best. It introduces the concept and the various weird characters that are going to entertain you with their journey into the un-imagined.
The second, the Restaurant at the end of universe doesn’t match the pace of the first. But it has a really nice concept, the time loop at the edge of the universe. I also really enjoyed the perspective vortex. Explains why people behave the way they do. If only we could punish offenders by transporting them to the vortex!
The third, Life, universe and everything, doesn’t leave much of an impression, though it does take you around in time a lot. The fourth, so long and thanks for all the fish, again doesn’t leave you with much to talk about. Though I really did enjoy the part where the asylum comes in. It changes your perspective of life. What is an asylum after all, eh?
Irrespective of the few weak spots, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It transports you to Arthur Dent’s world, where weird is the new normal. You have people who fly, planets that get destroyed, robots that maniacally depressed and mice that build super computers! Go imagine!
Books and life... 