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chrissych's review against another edition
5.0
(mild spoilers ahead)
It's terribly amusing that the majority of reviewers have tossed this fifth part to the trilogy aside, banished it from their mental schemata of the series so as to acknowledge only that which ends well. I think it says a lot about the readership that they took in the entirety of the first four books without picking up on the melancholy and nihilistic subtext to Adams' writing. I mean, the first book ends with the discovery that the meaning of life is 42.... how much clearer does it need to be in order convey the ultimately meaningless adventure that Adams saw life in this universe to be? More importantly, at what point did that fact ever stop him from telling a spectacular story?
It is the journey, more than the end, that defines us and the worlds we live in. I think Arthur's encounter with the man on the pole in Hawalius can be taken as a pre-emptive response to those who would invariably decry the novel to be "too bleak": humans seek to be protected from knowing the things we don't want to know about, and it leads us to miss a great deal of understanding, experience, and acceptance, sometimes with dire psychological consequences. A reader may not want to know how the story of Arthur and his companions ultimately ends, or how any story that goes on long enough must end, but it's a blind and willful ignorance that serves no purpose but to save us seeing reality, in all its complicated and multidimensional depth of cause and effect and pure probability.
Personally, I found this book to be a brilliant and thought-provoking conclusion to a sharp, touching, and gloriously honest series. The ending of the novel, with Arthur at peace and Ford laughing wildly, is the most honest part yet. I pity any reader who doesn't get that.
It's terribly amusing that the majority of reviewers have tossed this fifth part to the trilogy aside, banished it from their mental schemata of the series so as to acknowledge only that which ends well. I think it says a lot about the readership that they took in the entirety of the first four books without picking up on the melancholy and nihilistic subtext to Adams' writing. I mean, the first book ends with the discovery that the meaning of life is 42.... how much clearer does it need to be in order convey the ultimately meaningless adventure that Adams saw life in this universe to be? More importantly, at what point did that fact ever stop him from telling a spectacular story?
It is the journey, more than the end, that defines us and the worlds we live in. I think Arthur's encounter with the man on the pole in Hawalius can be taken as a pre-emptive response to those who would invariably decry the novel to be "too bleak": humans seek to be protected from knowing the things we don't want to know about, and it leads us to miss a great deal of understanding, experience, and acceptance, sometimes with dire psychological consequences. A reader may not want to know how the story of Arthur and his companions ultimately ends, or how any story that goes on long enough must end, but it's a blind and willful ignorance that serves no purpose but to save us seeing reality, in all its complicated and multidimensional depth of cause and effect and pure probability.
Personally, I found this book to be a brilliant and thought-provoking conclusion to a sharp, touching, and gloriously honest series. The ending of the novel, with Arthur at peace and Ford laughing wildly, is the most honest part yet. I pity any reader who doesn't get that.
simonlitton's review against another edition
3.0
It's been a good 20 years since I read the first four Hitchhikers books, which I loved. This one felt very different. The wackiness and comic invention has been toned down, and in its place is a very English strain of wistful melancholy. The plot makes a certain kind of sense if you think about it, although it's not what I would call satisfying. There are a couple of laugh out loud moments, but the overall feeling is one of sadness. Interesting...
xen_reads's review against another edition
5.0
Probably the worst of the Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's Guide series, but also my absolute favorite.
stellarkruize's review against another edition
2.0
I finally got to finish this one. I'd lost some steam with this series after the previous and a bit of the way in this one. (I'd read up to chapter 5, was like meh, and sat it down for a long time). This one seemed to lack a lot of the charm that the first couple had. It really seems like they were really trying to figure out what else to do with the crew. The previous one I was suggested to read in this series, Zaphod Plays It Safe, didn't seem to have anything to do with this one. There was no Zaphod either which I'm kind of meh about. They seemed to really try to make him more important in the other books and then just dropped him like a good habit. The ending of the series really went out on a whimper. The book, at this point, became more of a Vogon check list to mark off. Well...I guess onto other funny sci-fi books and see how the TV series is.
logickat's review against another edition
4.0
Arthur has settled in as a revered sandwich-maker on a remote planet, when along comes Ford, who had stolen the new Guide, which functions via temporal reverse engineering, then Ford and Arthur chase after Arthur's genetic daughter by way of Trillian who took the Guide to get to Earth, then it gets weird.
kimberlyroses's review against another edition
3.0
Too much time on Earth for me. I know this was the Earth book, but the fun of the series was hoping around. I don't love parallel universes, but this book had a fun, unique take on the trope. Definitely enjoyed the earlier books a lot more, but these last two had their moments too.
paulhill53's review against another edition
3.0
Oh dear, how I loved these books thirty years ago. Who knew there was a fifth book in the trilogy - not me. But this one is a bit dark and bitter. But it did remind me how much I had loved the first four books in the trilogy, so I'm glad I read it. And yes, I'll read the 6th book, written by someone else, just to see how that works out for everyone.
megbon's review against another edition
4.0
Douglas Adams. Just love him. Although, in the midst of how incredibly hilarious they are, I always forget how sad they seem at the end.
maggieluong's review
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0