“In the beginning, the universe was created. This made a lot of people angry and was widely regarded as a bad move.”
A little less than 14 billion years later, a book was released that has the ability to make you laugh, cry, and contemplate the never-ending complexities of our universe all at once. This book so gripped the hearts of readers that it has been translated into over thirty languages, and has been adapted to just about every media possible- television series, radio series, movie, video games, comic books.
This astounding book is the result of a man named Douglas Adams lying drunk in an Austrian field, face-up looking at the night sky, clutching a copy of The Hitch-hiker’s Guide to Europe. For years the story cooked in his brain until he was able to release his adventure into the world.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series consists of six masterfully crafted books- The Hitchhiker’s guide to the Galaxy (1979); The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980); Life, the Universe and Everything (1982); So Long and Thanks for All the Fish (1984); Mostly Harmless (1992); and And Another Thing… (2009).
Arthur Dent is your average Englishman. When he finds himself being the only thing standing in the way of a bulldozer and his house, he thinks life cannnot get any worse. His seemingly human friend, Ford Prefect, manages to pull him away from the standstill he has enacted and his house is completely demolished… along with the entire Earth. Luckily, they manage to hitch a ride on the Vogon ship responsible for the Earth’s demise. The rest of the series describes Dent’s adventures hitchhiking through the universe with his alien savior, who just so happens to be an experienced hitchhiker. They carry with them The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, an electronic book (if one tried to put all of the information into actual paper and ink, the book would fit the size of a large building and certainly would not be able to fit in the satchel of the average hitchhiker). On the cover of each copy are the words “Don’t Panic” in “large friendly letters”.
Arthur Dents journeys not only take him to far-off places physically, but also introduce him to new routes of philosophy. Throughout his journeys, Arthur Dent learns the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything, which of course is 42. After millenniums of speculation about this, a giant computer the size of a planet was built to finally relieve sentient beings of pondering this particular conundrum.
“Well, that doesn’t make any sense” you may be saying to yourself, but that is indeed the answer. The real problem is figuring out the question. The computer for that is still being built. There’s also a committee whose job it is to contemplate the complexities of the universe. He also meets an immortal who has done and learned almost everything you can think of. Now his personal goal is insulting every living being alive, in alphabetical order, in person. To him, the meaning of life is finding something that can keep you adequately occupied.
Douglas Adams’ writing style is perfect for the story he has written: the style is wacky enough in itself to keep you interested. Saying “The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don’t” doesn’t really help you envision the Vogan spaceships looming over humanity, but at the same time, you know exactly what he means. He was able to not only relay to readers the wonder and wackiness of the universe past our solar system, but also convey Dent’s internal struggle with being one of the two humans left alive.
This book brings you to worlds you have never imagined. Don’t Panic. Read it.