Arthur Dent is living in a non-descript house overlooking the peaceful English countryside but...but then his world explodes--literally. Yes, The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy is a comedy. It offers a chuckle a page. All you have to do is find the funny bites.
Published by Pan Books
an imprint of Macmillan Publishers
Published in 1976
159 pages
Arthur Dent is blissfully unaware of... Well, a lot of things, actually. One of the biggest things is that his best friend Ford Prefect though pretending to be an out-of-work actor is, in fact, an alien--like from another planet. As it turns out, that's a good thing because when the earth explodes Ford being from another planet can "save" Arthur.
What does it all mean?
Here's a guess: The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy is about the encroachment of technology into our everyday lives.
When Douglas Adams wrote this book, in the 1970s, there were no social media. No cell phone. Heck, there weren't even personal computers. Hard to believe but true. Can we imagine our lives without the World Wide Web only fifty years later? Sometimes it's nice to try.
'"What's so unpleasant about being drunk?"
"You ask a glass of water."' (p.49)
I met Arthur Dent when I was 21. I could relate to Arthur. My world, like his, had just exploded. (After coming home from participating in a nine-month youth group, I enrolled in university.)
After reading and loving Douglas Adams' books, I lent them to a friend and... and... The friend refused to give them back. In his defense--. Sorry, no, there's no defence for this crime.
Thankfully, my boyfriend, now husband, had the books. Did I marry him so I could re-read the series?
Hmmm...
Next year my husband and I will celebrate our 30th anniversary. And I just re-read the first book in the series. So, no. I married him for love, not books.
(in Manon's garden)
