The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy discussion

I consider myself a well-read Hitchhiking Hoopy frood. :) What are you confused about? I've got the book right here.

If you think his use of multiple POVs is annoying, good luck reading an epic lol.

Alright, so after the destruction of the world in the first book, they discover that the worlds are made by mice, who are crafting an Earth 2. And to make yup for not being able to process the Question after Earth's original destruction, the answer is placed in Arthur's head.

Later, we see them on Pre-historic Earth 2, and Ford takes him to the future.

Right now I can't help you because I can't recall all the details. But I remember that halfway book fourth I was experiencing the same feeling. But, if you can put the confusion aside you're gonna like how's gonna end...

I read the whole thing three times, once in 6th, 7th, then 8th grade. It's been a while, so I'm probably with Andrea on forgetting some parts and jokes from the books, but I don't recall any confusion. I wish I could help, I just honestly am having trouble explaining it.

The series was not meant to be a set of novels really. The Guide was a radio serial with the guide as the main character. But the beauty of it is its confusion, the writing is brilliant, mad and brilliant.

Naw, i thought it was pretty simple

Great series. Bonkers Brit humour. Can't beat it. Faulty Towers, Black Adder, Porridge, Monty Python's... yes, it's not logical. God bless potty Brit humour.

Paul wrote: "Great series. Bonkers Brit humour. Can't beat it. Faulty Towers, Black Adder, Porridge, Monty Python's... yes, it's not logical. God bless potty Brit humour."
Red Dwarf, Terry Pratchett, Ricky Gervais, Good Neighbors, Keeping Up Appearances.

Sebastian wrote: "Red Dwarf, Terry Pratchet..."

Spaced.

Mkfs wrote: "Sebastian wrote: "Red Dwarf, Terry Pratchet..."

Spaced."

25% of my watchlist on Netflix.

The meaning of life is 42. Why? Because it's just as valid as any other meaning of life that we have ever come up with.

Understatement, world-weary cynicism and a very British obsession with the game of cricket.

Perhaps obtuse is a better word than confusing? bear in mind that it started as being a serial radio show before it became a novel series and add to that british humor and well I can see why people might think it confusing. Keep with it and it will be worth it.

No, it's just absurdist like Alice In Wonderland.

Jacquelyn wrote: "No, it's just absurdist like Alice In Wonderland."

I like that description: "absurdist". Though, like yourself I'm sure, do not mean that in a pejorative light. It is absurdity as art.

Sud666 wrote: "Jacquelyn wrote: "No, it's just absurdist like Alice In Wonderland."

I like that description: "absurdist". Though, like yourself I'm sure, do not mean that in a pejorative light. It is absurdity a..."

Of course I don't mean it in a critical way! I'm admiring the way Adams is using this absurdism to represent our reality. Like sure we think that cows that WANT to be eaten is absurd, but isn't that almost what we tell ourselves subconsciously to make it justifiable? These seemingly outlandish comparisons between his world and our reality are not outlandish and that is what is so brilliant about it! I love absurdism, it's hilarious but enlightening at the same time and only a true genius can provide this.

Agreed and well said. It is the same reason I enjoyed his Dirk Gently character. I also enjoyed the fact that the answer to the meaning of life was what it was (no wish to spoil it for anyone on this thread who hasn't read the book yet)..because using absurdism Mr. Adams makes us understand that the question is far more important than the answer. I absolutely agree with you in calling him a genius. It is one of the few books that have actually made me laugh out loud. A master of the British style of absurdist humor, much the same reason I enjoy Monty Python.

Katie Rose wrote: "What I am not getting right now is how Arthur got back to Earth and to the current time period because they destroyed Earth."

Rose ... I hope this helps a little. Also the summary contains some spoilers.

At the end of the second book "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe," Arthur and Ford are teleported onto a Golgafrinchan Ark Fleet Ship B, which crash lands on pre-histortic Earth.

At the start of the third book "Life, the Universe and Everything," Ford drags Authur into some kind of time eddy (that looks like a sofa) and they are teleported to Earth two days before it gets destroyed.

In the fourth book, "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish" it is revealed that before the Dolphins left the Earth (before it was destroyed in the first book), they created a New Earth and teleported everyone from the original Earth to the New Earth.

After a couple shots of whiskey... the story will start to make sense :)

That sounds about right Louis. It's been a couple of years since I've read it, but from what I remember.......SPOILERS........ Earth was created as a sort of giant computer with the purpose of finding the meaning to 'life the universe and everything'. Or at least to help make sense of the answer that another computer calculated. But, the Golgafrinchan ship crashed on ancient earth, adding humans into the program. Not the first time humanity has been compared to a virus.

The reason things jump around from one absurd situation to the next is that Arthur is slowly finding out the reason for his own existence and how his existence relates to the meaning of life. The reason it's so ridiculous is because that is the moral of the story. Douglas Adams once compared religious belief or searching for the meaning of life to a sentient puddle believing that because the indent in the ground fits it so well, that it must have been created specifically for it.

Isobel wrote: "The reason things jump around from one absurd situation to the next is that Arthur is slowly finding out the reason for his own existence and how his existence relates to the meaning of life. The reason it's so ridiculous is because that is the moral of the story."

Isobel, you absolutely nailed it.

The absurdity of the story is pretty much the story itself. Oftentimes it doesn't make a bit of sense and it runs the gamut between funny, tragic, dark, irreverent and brilliant. The fact that the protagonist, Arthur Dent, spends most of his time wandering around, wearing a bathrobe while clutching a towel (hitchhiking across the galaxy requires a towel, duh!) desperately trying to find a decent cup of tea with a fish stuck in his ear is proof positive that logic is highly overrated.

To be fair, the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is a farce about the absolute absurdity of reality or lack thereof. It doesn’t pretend to be highbrow literature, and it never lets you forget that. However, the part that I find a little troubling is that if you read the books long enough they start to actually make sense. How weird is that?

And just for the record, Gods final message to the universe was hilarious!

I loved the first 2 books of the 5 volume series. I loved it. The weird plot, the weirder jokes..it did get it tome. Now I am on the 3rd book for the last 2 weeks laboring through the pages. I dont like the plot now and now the weirdness is stretched to the point of numbness. I think the generally bad reviews of the last 3 volumes also biased my views. Did any of you desert the novel from the 3rd installment ?

Avisek wrote: "I loved the first 2 books of the 5 volume series. I loved it. The weird plot, the weirder jokes..it did get it tome. Now I am on the 3rd book for the last 2 weeks laboring through the pages. I dont..."


I honestly enjoyed the entire series, but I understand what you mean about the 'weirdness.' Life, the Universe and Everything is probably one of the weirdest in the series, but I don't think it's worth deserting the series. The next book, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish has a considerably different tone (still with plenty of weirdness, of course), so you may find it easier to get through.

Overall, I'd say it's worth it to read. However, the Hitchhiker's Guide is so convoluted, you could probably skip it entirely and be no more confused than if you had read it when you start the fourth. :)