Quando ho preso in mano questo volume, sapevo già di trovarmi dinanzi a uno dei capisaldi della letteratura sci-fi humour. Solo leggendo il ciclo con i cinque romanzi della Guida Galattica per Autostoppisti, mi sono accorto di quanto invece sia molto più di un capolavoro.
Per quanto non mi abbia fatto ridere particolarmente, se non in qualche preciso punto, ho ritenuto geniali certi ragionamenti (interventi dell’autore veri e propri o citazioni della Guida) e sono fonte di spunti di riflessione anche alcuni scambi di battute fra personaggi.
Il ciclo della Guida Galattica per Autostoppisti non ha bisogno di molte parole per essere descritto e commentato, ma quelle poche parole che possono essere spese sono decisamente positive. In effetti, nel corso dei cinque libri, non solo Adams ha dimostrato di essere un eccellente narratore, ma ha dimostrato di avere una fantasia invidiabile visto il modo in cui ha ricollegato certi eventi che si ritrovavano in ogni libro e che sembravano di poco conto, salvo poi rivelarsi cruciali nello sviluppo della trama di tutto il ciclo. Inoltre Adams ha dimostrato un encomiabile cambiamento nello stile: se i primi tre libri sono molto più "umoristici", gli ultimi due romanzi del ciclo assumono spesso e volentieri caratteri più seriosi che, nonostante tutto, non stonano affatto con il complesso narrativo sapientemente creato.
L'unica pecca che qualcuno potrebbe riscontrare nel corso della lettura, molto spesso, è quella per cui certi passaggi potrebbero essere poco comprensibili a causa della materia trattata: i viaggi multidimensionali e nello spazio-tempo.
Si fa forse un po' fatica a seguire le vicende che prendono vita, nel passaggio da un capitolo all'altro, in luoghi e tempi differenti, ma senz'ombra di dubbio, tutto sarà lentamente più comprensibile mano a mano che il lettore si avvicinerà al gran finale a sorpresa.
Questi cinque libri rimangono comunque fenomenali nella loro critica dissacrante e mai prosaica e che abbraccia tematiche delicate (o ritenute tali) come la religione, la politica e anche certi comportamenti di noi esseri umani sperduti in questo GCG di Universo (Gran Casino Generale di Universo). È veramente un testo più che consigliato, che con leggerezza e sarcasmo pungente riesce a tutti gli effetti ad abbracciare “La Vita, l’Universo, tutto quanto” (cit.)

Edit 11/17/2017: Added mini-review of The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.
Edit 4/18/19: Added mini-review of Life, the Universe and Everything.
Edit 7/19/19: Added mini-review of So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish.
Edit 11/5/21: All done!

2013: I don't think I've ever gotten all the way through this five-books-plus-a-short-story trilogy but it still remains fond in memory as part of my British sci-fi TV phase in high school that also included Dr. Who and Blake's 7. (A good looking actor or two, and the scripts, had about equal influence on teenager-me's interest level.)

*

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: it has to have been since I was in high school that I read this one, since I would have recognized the Monty Python nods that pop up here and there from hanging out with nerds through college and beyond. Our universe here has a white maleness about it, but calling that out feels ungracious in the face of something that still made me laugh, even after having been through the story many times over the years in TV, book, and movie form.

*

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe:

Already we're moving on to parts of the series that I don't have nearly memorized. All I specifically remembered from this was the scene with the Dish of the Day, but bits and pieces of it came back as I went along.

This second novel finishes, sort of, the story started in the first book, giving us the ultimate question that is answered by the ultimate answer. Or does it?

Structure-wise it's a series of set pieces connected with huge jumps through time and space. My favorite part is where Zaphod meets the ruler of the Universe, who has an existentialist point of view so extreme that it becomes absurd. But all the sequences are striking in their own way. It has a somewhat relaxed and conceptual vibe, not as hectic or humorous as Hitchhiker's. Maybe some of that is because Arthur's become more accustomed to his life as a galactic wanderer and isn't freaking out all the time.

Restaurant ended rather abruptly: I was clicking away through my Kindle copy, and boom. If I'd been reading a paper copy, obviously I wouldn't have been surprised by it! That said, it would be a reasonable end to a duology, if we didn't all know the series went on for three more books. :)

I read this because one of the lines from the first book came to mind in a political discussion. Unsurprising, really. What sometimes surprises me, though, is how much these books are consolatory reading for me, despite their essential cynicism. In the face of events you can't control--and the characters witness and go through quite a lot of them--you have to keep on keepin' on.

*

Life, the Universe and Everything:

I'd read this novel only once over thirty years ago, and it was surprising how much of it I remembered, from the S.E.P. field to the immortal who travels the universe insulting everyone--literally everyone--in alphabetical order.

Adams himself admitted that he was a reluctant novelist who preferred to work in other media, and in this third volume, well, it's starting to show. Adams' wonderful talent for funny set pieces remains, but those set pieces have to share the stage with a not terribly interesting "save the Universe" plot (that apparently was, itself, imported from a scrapped other project), which makes parts of this story mildly boring to get through.

There are a couple of points where the reader can ponder serious questions like military escalation or how any given life sustains itself at the expense of other lives... but they certainly don't have to. This a quick and mostly entertaining read, and while it isn't the best of the lot by far, for me it was worth its brief time investment to see Arthur, Marvin and the rest again. This volume ends with Arthur being separated from the others, much as he was at the end of the second book. But with two volumes left to go, you know it won't be long before we're back to seeing the wildest corners of the universe through his goggling shocked eyes.

*

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish:

Well, what to say about this one. There are a couple of really good parts, the last few chapters being a standout. But more than half of the book is taken up with Arthur Dent falling in love.

It goes like this: Arthur first meets--or rather, sees, under circumstances that are on the "Yikes!" side--a woman named Fenchurch. They are separated by coincidence, and meet again through coincidence (neither of which coincidence involves the Heart of Gold, apparently). They are immediately infatuated and have a lot of sex.

That isn't a romance. It isn't even a story! And it eats up dozens of fairly boring pages. The story about the biscuits within the Arthur-Fenchurch hookup arc is much better than it is.

And then when Ford and Arthur meet again, Fenchurch fades entirely into the background. [goes off to ship Ford and Arthur]

Zaphod and Trillian are mentioned in passing, and Marvin makes a final (?) appearance, but anyone expecting a reunion of the gang is up for a disappointment.

It's hard to say what I'd think about this one if my mind hadn't been dazzled with the first two books. I can completely understand an author not wanting to write the same book over and over, and this one's different, all right, but it also largely fails to be either funny or thoughtful. There's a feeling of "if I must" about it, and Adams' reluctance to grind out more of these incredibly popular books hangs over the whole thing.

*

"Young Zaphod Plays It Safe": an elaborate, nicely-presented setup for a mid-'80s-topical punch line.

*

Mostly Harmless:

Wow, that was unexpected. It's a downer a lot of the time, and extremely unpleasant once or twice. I'll give this one a better write-up in its own review. (edit to add: the review is here.)

*

This "trilogy" is never the same thing twice, and that's all to the good. Some books work better than others; the third and fourth are skippable aside from a handful of passages, in my opinion. On the whole it's well worth a read, if you're of a certain age and/or have an affinity for British pop media of a couple of generations ago. I don't think Adams' imagination and novels... or at least, the discipline that goes into creating novels... were aligned all that well. But I am grateful that these, and the Dirk Gently novels, exist as a legacy of that imagination, both in its youthful exuberance, and in its later weary nihilism.

This could possibly be one of the most epic books of all time, easily passing up the biography of Chuck Norris and the complete works of J.K. Rowling. I have read all 5 books at least 8 times over and can pretty much recite the first chapter of the first book from memory. At night i fall asleep to the gentle sounds of Stephen Fry reading The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy from my AM/FM 2 disc CD/cassette radio player box.
Though you can start with any of the five books, i wouldn't suggest starting with any one but the first, otherwise your head has a tendency to explode. The story starts out in the quiet rather boring life of one Arthur Dent. Upon getting up one morning, he finds that there are several rather large and yellowish bulldozers preparing to destroy his home. He is somewhat angry about this and makes the most logical choice to go lay down in front of one to stall for time. Things go badly for him, and, a couple hours later, the Earth gets vaporized in a brutal sort of way by a rather nasty group of slug-things called Vogons. Luckily, Arthur has the brains to be chummy with Ford Prefect... who just so happens to be an alien hitchhiker from the planet Betelgeuse. Ford uses a fancy ring to hitch a ride on the nearest Vogon ship just seconds before ole' Earth kicks the bucket.
Throughout the next four installments of the series, Ford Prefect and Arthur journey through the universe visiting such places as Magrothea, a nifty little planet where they make custom order worlds for rich people. Another exciting place they journey to is the odorous world of Vogsphere. Bad luck befalls the duo, and they are almost fed to the Ravenous Bug-Blatter Beast of Traal. On a brighter note, they manage to kill a jeweled crab with the door of a spaceship. They are supported by a colorful class of characters including the two-headed, charismatic President of the Universe, Zaphod Beeblebrox, and his (from what im told) pretty sexy girlfriend, Trillian.
I would suggest this book to anyone and everyone. However, a sense of humour is required. Without it, you will undoubtedly be as lost as Willy Wonka is in a nutritional foods store. There are some groups however that should not read this work of excellence even if they have a sense of humour. They include, but are not limited to, animals, seeing as how the absence of opposible thumbs might make it difficult for them to turn the pages, and PETA, because they will be angry that animals were not given equal rights as humans in this review.

İroni ve kronoloji kavramları kendilerine yeni birer biçim bulmuş olabilir bu kitapla. Evrenin saçma sapanlıkları ve aşırı sistemli rastgeleliği üzerine, aynı şekilde saçma sapan ve aşırı sistemli bir kitap. Her şey yerini buluyor ama tam o anda bulunan şeyin orada olmadığı ortaya çıkıyor. Şaşkın bir arayış ve anlamsız buluşlar, tekrar, tekrar ve tekrar.

Keşke Marvin için başlıbaşına bir bölüm olsaydı :/

Elveda ve bütün satırlar için teşekkürler :)

Sci-Fi Insanity.

The complete 5 book interstellar journey of Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox and Trillian McMillan aboard the Heart of Gold spaceship, as they travel through the absurd infinity of space and time in their improbable adventures to solve de Ultimate Question to life, the universe, and everything.

From planet Golgafrincham in Galactic Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha, to Magrathea, Ursa Minor Beta, Frogstar World B, Krikkit, and planet Lamuella; with delightful side characters like Marvin, Fenchurch, Random, Deep Thought, Slartibartfast, Agrajag, Vogons and Wowbagger, the Infinitely Prolonged.

Does it sound ridiculous? Well, that’s because it IS; but ridiculously funny, most of the time. The hype is well deserved, undoubtedly for Book #1 at least. Recommendable, for lovers of Humor and Science Fiction.

n  IMPORTANT NOTE:n If you wish a HEA ending to the series, never EVER read #5, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. I’m not sure #6 even counts. And #0.5 is totally skippable.


-----------------------------------------------
n  PERSONAL NOTEn:
[1996] [815p] [Humor] [Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------

★★☆☆☆ 0.5. Young Zaphod Plays It Safe [1.5]
★★★★★ 1. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
★★☆☆☆ 2. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe [2.5]
★★★☆☆ 3. Life, the Universe and Everything
★★★★☆ 4. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
★☆☆☆☆ 5. Mostly Harmless
★★★☆☆ 1-5. The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy  
★★★☆☆ 6. And Another Thing... [2.5]

-----------------------------------------------

Insanidad de Ciencia Ficción.

El completo viaje interestelar de 5 libros de Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox y Trillian McMillan a bordo de la nave espacial Corazón de Oro, mientras viajan a través de la absurda infinidad del espacio y tiempo en su improbable aventura para resolver la Gran Pregunta a la vida, el universo, y todo lo demás.

Desde el planeta Golgafrincham en el Sector Galáctico ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha, a Magrathea, Ursa Menor Beta, Mundo Frogstar B, Krikkit, y el planeta Lamuella; con adorables personajes secundarios como Marvin, Fenchurch, Random, Pensamiento Profundo, Slartibartfast, Agrajag, Vogons y Wowbagger, el Infinitamente Prolongado.

¿Suena ridículo? Bueno, eso es porque lo ES; pero ridículamente gracioso, la mayor parte del tiempo. Su fama es más que bien merecida, sin duda alguna para el Libro #1 al menos. Recomendable, para amantes del Humor y Ciencia Ficción.

n  NOTA IMPORTANTE:n Si querés un final feliz para la serie, nunca JAMAS leas #5, lo vas a lamentar por el resto de tu vida. No estoy seguro que #6 ni siquiera cuente. Y #0.5 es totalmente salteable.



-----------------------------------------------
n  NOTA PERSONALn:
[1996] [815p] [Humor] [Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------

So, listen to the audiobooks because they are so funny.

So Earth's destroyed, and some weird English man and woman go to space with some weird aliens and robots, none very bright but ridiculous.

“I'm a scientist and I know what constitutes proof. But the reason I call myself by my childhood name is to remind myself that a scientist must also be absolutely like a child. If he sees a thing, he must say that he sees it, whether it was what he thought he was going to see or not. See first, think later, then test. But always see first. Otherwise you will only see what you were expecting. Most scientists forget that.”

Guida galattica per gli autostoppisti è un ciclo di romanzi stravaganti e imprevedibili, in cui i fili seguiti dai personaggi sembrano assolutamente lasciati in balia del caso, così come in balia del caso sono gli incontri tra loro e dunque l'avanzamento della trama.
Lo premetto subito: alla lunga, all'ennesimo incontro totalmente fortuito con un personaggio di cui si era parlato a inizio libro, questo escamotage smette di divertire. Tuttavia, bisogna ammetterlo: Douglas Adams è stato bravo nel tener presente molto di ciò che aveva scritto in precedenza, creando una narrazione tutto sommato dotata di senso.

La vicenda incomincia quando la Terra viene demolita per lasciar spazio a un'autostrada spaziale e l'inglese Arthur Dent è così costretto a fuggire insieme all'alieno Ford Prefect, proveniente da Betelgeuse e redattore di una guida della galassia dedicata agli autostoppisti. Da allora, è un susseguirsi di peripezie a spasso per spazio, tempo e universi.

Passiamo ai punti a favore: l'umorismo inglese di Adams è splendido e in alcuni punti si ride di gusto. I personaggi sono memorabili (la mia preferita è Fenchurch, purtroppo non presente in tutti i romanzi, ma anche Ford Prefect, il robot Marvin e Arthur Dent non sono affatto male). Insomma, tutto sommato la lettura viaggia rapida e colpisce positivamente.

Consigliato a chi apprezza un certo umorismo demenziale; per quanto mi riguarda, è un libro da tre stelle su cinque. Romanzo preferito: Addio, e grazie per tutto il pesce.

Buona lettura e ricordate: NIENTE PANICO.

Why does British humor rely so much on the use of indifference? Just something I've noticed.

So the Earth is destroyed. In an indifferent manner, which makes it hi-larious. A bloke is saved and, unmoored in the Universe, is dragged through a series of droll hijinx. One formulaic hijinx after another, which are really just vehicles for terribly self-satisfied one-liners. And then the novel stops at a seemingly arbitrary point -- though I suspect it's actually the point of diminishing returns. At around the third novel (this is a collection of five plus a short story, remember; I expect my medal to arrive any day now), Adams begins to lick himself uncontrollably and lifts entire chapters from his earlier books. I find this utterly distasteful.

The first two novels collected here (n  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxyn and The Restaurant at the End of the Universe) are tolerable if you enjoy dry humor. The rest is offal.

I was thinking about the radio version of this, which I heard scraps of at odd times when from time to time it was repeated. One in particular stuck in my head which was that one of the characters was stuck on a planet in habited by particularly intelligent birds who had evolved out of the human population when their economy collapsed due to an excess of shoe shops. I liked this because it reminded me of Bromley, which as a child to my mind had far too many shoe shops all of which it seemed I was doomed to be dragged round whenever my childish feet, ever yearning for freedom, threatened to escape the bounds of my current pair.

The business of the planet inhabited by the intelligent birds was I'm sure recycled and tided up into Zaphod Beeblebrox's visit to the Total Perspective Vortex - and that in a way is my experience of the whole series. Originally there was the radio series, a television series, a series of books. They overlapped. It was anarchic. It didn't make sense. And it was fun.

Then the books left all the rest behind. Things grew progressively neater, more orderly, a plot emerged. For me it became dull, the jokes laboured, down to the final experience in Mostly Harmless of finding all the loose ends tied up by the author only the understand that it was better, from my perspective at least, when they were all undone and missiles (or maybe it was spaceships, it certainly didn't matter eitherway) could turn into a bowl of petunias and a whale that thinks "oh no, not again", characters could escape certain death Candide style, or a piece of cake could be used to show you in relation to the whole of creation.

As a series then I suppose I think of it as Mostly Flawed but with occasional nice moments. A flood of detail and invention that washes away the story in a glorious incoming tide, the author in an unfortunate and unnecessary move though repeatedly sticks his fingers in the plot holes and throws down sandbags full of story, even though it is unpredictable joy of the circling poets of Arium and the exchange rates of galactic currencies that best reflect the galaxy we live in and our experience of hitchhiking through it than any kind of story.

Şimdi nereden başlasam nasıl anlatsam ne desem bilemiyorum bu kitap için. Standart bir bilim kurgu kitabı değil onu söylemem lazım. Çok satan, bilmem ne ödülü almış, kitaptan sonra hemen filmi yapılmış teknik terimlerle dolu kitaplardan hiç değil. Zaten terimleri sadece bu kitapta göreceğiniz türden.
Bir yol hikayesi denebilir mi? Evet, belki bu olabilir. Galaksinin herhangi bir yerinde geçen, arabalar yerine uzay gemilerinin olduğu, yolların zemininin olmadığı bir yol hikayesi denebilir.
Alıştığımız şekilde bir olay akışı hiç beklemeyin. Standart bir gidişat asla yok. Olasılıklar sonsuz ve her an her şey mümkün olabilir. Neden olmasın? Değil mi ama olabilir herşey. Hayal gücümüzü evrene bağlayabiliriz.
Yazılacak çok şey var ama ben şimdilik bu kadar yazabiliyorum. Baştan sona olayları kafamda tekrar oynatıyorum ve Douglas Adams'ın nasıl bir kafa yapısı ile bunları yazdığını düşünüyorum. Sadece esprili bir bilim kurgu yol kitabı yazmamış, aynı zamanda gönderme yapmak istediği konulara tek tek giydirmeyi de bilmiş. Hem farklı, hem komik hem de sürükleyici bir kitap bırakmış bizlere. Okuyunuz okutunuz diyorum.
Baskı ile ilgili olarak Alfa Yayınları bir kez daha takdirimi kazandı diyebilirim. Kitap kapağından cildine, puntosundan dokusuna kadar herşeyiyle çok iyi bir kitap hazırlamışlar. Mutlaka her kitaplıkta olması gereken çok güzel bir eseri, çok güzel bir sunumla sunmuşlar.

It doesn't get any better than this. Best books ever.

An astounding 4 star for this series.

The satire in the first two books is just mind blowing. Many a times I had to shut the book and laugh my heart out. There were many comical events in this series that I thoroughly enjoyed. The later books were not as good as the first two but I still found the story line and humor to be good.
The last book was definitely not the end of the series because the author died while writing the next one. Sadly, it was not upto the standard set by Adams in previous installments.
I didn't want the series to end and definitely not at the point it did.
I strongly recommend everyone to read at least the first two or three books of the series. :)