adora_ble15's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
phoebewrench's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
taffy_sea's review
3.0
Quirky humor. Not exactly what I was expecting! This book relishes its oddities. Definitely worth reading for the references scattered everywhere.
katieoreads's review
2.0
I really tried to like this book given its popularity and definitely found some parts enjoyable, but I just couldn't get into it.
peggy99blue's review
2.0
I can't believe I agreed to buddy read this book. It was fun, maybe a little good thought behind it. But that's just it. Just finished it to be finished with it. And those two stars are just for Marvin the miserable robot.
yvo_about_books's review
3.0
Finished reading: March 1st 2015
“This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movement of small green pieces of paper, which was odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.”
Spoiler
I know a lot of people seem to love The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, but I have to be honest and I cannot say the same. It's not that I hated it either; I just wasn't able to connect to the story or characters. And although I admit there are some funny parts, I didn't catch myself laughing out loud like others did. I normally do like dry and sarcastic humor, so it is truly a mystery why I didn't seem to enjoy this classic by Douglas Adams... Still, since I own the whole Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy series I will probably read The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe and the rest of the sequels at some point in the future. I might see the movie first though to see if it helps improving my enjoyment of this series... Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood when I read this one, who knows?
The Earth is about to be destroyed to make way for a galactic freeway, but Arthur Dent doesn't know anything about it. His friend Ford Prefect saves him from this terrible fate. Ford is a researcher for the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and has been stuck on the planet Earth for the last fifteen years... But luckily they were able to hitch a ride just before the Earth ceased to exist. Unfortunately for them it was about the worst ship to pick for your own rescue mission, as the captain hates hitchhikers and is truly unpleasant in general. They soon start a journey through space where they meet a lot of improbable travelers, and Arthur slowly learns more about the galaxy with the help of the Hitchhiker's Guide. Ford's friend Zaphod Beeblebrox, the current president of the galaxy, has stolen a very special ship and together with its crew he his looking for a very special planet most people think is a myth...
Yes, the prose was pretty good. Yes, the characters as well as the plot were interesting. Still, I just couldn't truly connect to either of them, and the humor didn't have a great impact on me. It might just have been the wrong moment for me to read this classic, as a lot of people seem to love The Hitchhiker's Guide Through The Galaxy... But I wasn't convinced. I know I will give this series a chance in the future and I will probably watch the movie as well to see if I'm able to enjoy the story better after it. But for now this one won't be making it to my list of favorite classics.
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.