Title: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyAuthor: Douglas Adams
Pages: 216
Genre: Science Fiction
Letter Grade: B
Synopsis: Arthur Dent is taken off of Earth by his neighbor Ford Prefect who had been stuck on Earth for 15 years. They are picked up by a ship of Vogons and then thrown out into space once they are caught. They are then picked up by Zaphod Beeblebrox (president of the galaxy), Trillian (also an earthling) and Marvin (a clinically depressed robot). They are in a ship called the Heart of Gold which has a new feature called Infinite Improbability Drive.
Why I Chose This Book: Alison and I saw the movie made from the book and both of us found it extremely strange. I would never have read this book had my Dad not recommended it. Now his recommendations have lost all credence.
My Review: As you can probably tell by the grade that I gave the book, I found it a little too off the wall for my liking. By the end of the book I was used to Adams' writing style and I was enjoying it more, but I'm afraid that it was still just a little too strange.
From the Book: "(p. 11, introducing Ford Prefect) He struck most of the friends he had made on Earth as an eccentric, but a harmless one - an unruly boozer with some oddish habits. For instance, he would often gate-crash university parties, get badly drunk and start making fun of any astrophysicists he could find till he got thrown out."
"(p. 64) Vogon poetry is of course the third worst in the Universe. The second worst is that of the Azgoths of Kria. During a recitation by their Poet Master Grunthos the Flatulent of his poem "Ode to a Small Lump of Green Putty I Found in My Armpit One Midsummer Morning" four of his audience died of internal hemorrhaging, and the President of the Mid-Galactic Arts Nobling Council survived by gnawing one of his own legs off. Grunthos is reported to have been "disappointed" by the poem's reception, and was about to embark on a reading of his twelve-book epic entitled My Favorite Bathtime Gurgles when his own major intestine, in a desperate attempt to save life and civilization, leaped straight up through his neck and throttled his brain."
***UPDATE: I changed this grade from a B- to a B after I found myself considering reading the other books in this series.
1 comment:
Now you are in the swing of things you need to read the rest of the series. By the way, did I really play someone on the bye week? We both didn't use the number one point leaders on our teams. Oh well, way to go, your #1!
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