Review: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've done a lot of re-reading this year. Some have held up, some have revealed themselves to lack plot. And this might be the fourth time I've read THGttG. Does it still hold up? Yes. Why would you even ask that? I'll get into why a little later down, but just know that I can probably read this book a thousand times and still laugh like no one is watching.

Since I'm a negative person, I tend to gravitate to what is wrong with something. So I'll start what's bad about this book. One, it's British. British authors tend to write as if only British culture exists. You can travel a million lightyears across the galaxy and the aliens there will still serve afternoon tea. Cognitive bias is more of a human flaw than a British one, but it's still there. Two, sometimes the cleverness is undermined by the absurdity. For example, the Improbability Drive and how it's first used might be one of the cleverest ideas in literature. I could write every clever idea I ever have throughout my life and never have an idea that good. But then the characters turn into penguins and stuff for no other reason than to be absurd. It's kind of how a joke is ruined by a heckler. Except here, the heckler and comedian are the same person.

Good Omens, the one by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, doesn't have much a plot to it. It's funny and well written but doesn't hold up to multiple reads. The reason I bring that up is because I had the same worry for THGttG. The thing is, the opposite is true for this book. Hitchhiker has a fairly layered plot that moves along at a breakneck pace. I would even say maybe a little too quickly. It's a rather short book and might be helped by expanding it somewhat. Still, it doesn't waste my time and deliveries an exciting adventure. Which is about eighty percent of what I ask for in a good book.

Now, why does THGttG hold up? I want to call the reason micro-humor. There are so many little jokes throughout that the book keeps you laughing regardless of how well you think you remember it. Sure, everyone remembers 42 and Thanks for All the Fish, but it's all the wittiness in between that keeps it fresh. THGttG is an absolute must if you've never read it before, but, what makes it truly great, is it stays an absolute must even after you've done so.

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