Ich habe den Anhalter schon sehr oft gelesen und bestimmt es das am häufigsten von mir gelesene Werk. Insofern kann ich mich wohl als eingefleischter Fan sehen, der dazu beiträgt, diese Satire zum Kult hervorzuheben. Ich habe es nun zuletzt in einer Leserunde hier auf Goodreads wieder mal mitgelesen und das war eine neue Erfahrung, denn ein Großteil der oft deutlich jüngeren und ausnahmslos weiblichen Mitlesenden stand di Lieblingswerk viel kritischer bis enttäuscht gegenüber. Ist es das Schicksal eines humoristischen Buchs, dass es bei sich wandelnder Gesellschaft und Humorempfinden seine Zeitlosigkeit und damit seinen Kultstatus verliert? Wird Douglas Adams in 20 Jahren nur noch von einem versprengten Haufen von Nerds gelesen? Gehöre ich jetzt auch schon zu den Alten, die von früher schwärmen, als Ende der 70er Jahre mit Monthy Python und Douglas Adams endlich mal eine andere Art von Humor über Film und Buch in Deutschland einzog, welches zu der Zeit noch von Otto und Mike Krüger geprägt war?

Ich habe auch diesmal beim lesen wieder oft gelacht. Das Buch hat über die Jahre nichts an Freude bei mir eingebüßt. Manche Anspielungen können die Jüngeren wahrscheinlich einfach nicht mehr verstehen, ob es sich um Digitaluhren oder um Bob Dylan-Songtexte handelt. Für mich ist das Buch auch kein Sci-Fi im eigentlichen Sinne. Es ist eine Satire mit jeder Menge genial verpackter Gesellschaftskritik an vernunftorientierten Homo Oeconomicus, der sich für die Perle der Schöpfung auf der Erde und damit auch im Universum hält. Douglas Adams zeigt Arthur Dent, dem einzigen Überlebenden der Menschheit auf, dass die Erdlinge nur kleine Staubkörner, die den falschen Idealen nachgerannt sind. Er dreht den Spieß um, macht die Mäuse zu den Herrschern über den Menschen und uns zu Versuchsobjekten. Er zieht das Streben nach der Wahrheit und dem Forscherdrang durch den Kakao, in dem er uns eine Zahl als Antwort auf die Frage nach dem Sinn des Lebens gibt. Da kann ich mich als Volkswirt herrlich darüber amüsieren, da ich oft genug die Welt in mathematische Modelle packen musste und froh war, wenn die Lambda-Gleichungen am Ende aufgingen. Trotz allem Klamauk und Slapsticks über Handtücher und Umgehungsstraßen steckt in dem Buch für mich viel mehr dahinter. Ich liebe es.

n  n    “You know," said Arthur, "it's at times like this, when I'm trapped in a Vogon airlock with a man from Betelgeuse, and about to die of asphyxiation in deep space that I really wish I'd listened to what my mother told me when I was young."
"Why, what did she tell you?"
"I don't know, I didn't listen.” n  n

Did this make you laugh already? Fine, because the rest of Douglas Adams' famous novel includes many more of those humorous elements.

I have a very difficult personal history with Sci-Fi novels; some of them I could appreciate but not enjoy; some I could appreciate but got bored with them very quickly; but The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was the first Sci-Fi novel which ever made me simultaneously appreciate, enjoy and even love the book. Love is a strong word, but if a book is filled with sentences like “The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't” or “Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job” or “My capacity for happiness you could fit into a matchbox without taking out the matches first”, then I simply can't help but fall in love with it.

n  n    “So this is it," said Arthur, "We are going to die."
"Yes," said Ford, "except... no! Wait a minute!" He suddenly lunged across the chamber at something behind Arthur's line of vision. "What's this switch?" he cried.
"What? Where?" cried Arthur, twisting round.
"No, I was only fooling," said Ford, "we are going to die after all.”n  n

I could go on and quote the entire book now, that's how much fun it was reading this and that's how quotable the book is. But Douglas Adams didn't only attempt (and succeed) to write this groundbreaking approach to the science fiction genre, he was also able to make you think a lot about several important questions: What is the meaning of life? Why do we live? Why do we die? What is the meaning of the Universe? Adams intentionally answers these questions in rather absurd ways, mainly because it is impossible to find ultimate answers and definitions for these topics. But those are all questions everyone has already asked themselves, and Adams isn't afraid to tackle them in a way that the reader can't help but laugh about it.

n  n    “For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reasons.”n  n

If you haven't read this book yet, perhaps because you are afraid of the Sci-Fi genre (which I was as well, until I started my adventures with Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Marvin and all the others in this book): then don't hesitate to read it. But don't be mistaken, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is (probably) not the best book you will ever find, it is (probably) not going to make you cry because of its emotional intensity, it is (probably) not going to keep you on the edge of your seat due to its ming-bogglingly suspenseful plot. Adams' book is rather an episodic account of several random adventures in the cosmic space, and for me it was mostly Adams' writing style which it was impossible to resist. He lures his readers into the story and before you even realize it, you are probably already laughing.

And don't forget to bring your towel!

What a unique book, truly one of a kind. Science fiction? Well kind of. Humor? Yes, that to. And who knows what else was going through Adams mind when he wrote this. It's almost like "stream of consciousness" science fiction/humor/satire. But whatever you call it, it was entertaining and fun to read. 4.5 stars.

I am not one of those who think this is the best book ever written. It does not affect me on any deep emotional level and this kind of quirky sci-fi comedy is just not really my thing. However, that being said, Adams' has some of the best quotes EVER (not all of these are from this exact book):


"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."



"For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reasons."



"The Guide says there is an art to flying", said Ford, "or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss."



"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools."



"Would it save you a lot of time if I just gave up and went mad now?"



"The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't."

“Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.”

Another great reread of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Always entertaining and so absurdly profound!
~~~

Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is an entertaining romp through the galaxy. It's a book I've read several times (first in high school); however, after reading Kurt Vonnegut's most overtly science fiction novel, The Sirens of Titan, it almost felt like a fresh experience. Of course, Vonnegut and Adams are very different writers. Still, the influence of Vonnegut is evident in Adams' seminal novel of nerd culture. The absurdity of the human condition explored in Sirens (something which Vonnegut refuses to take seriously but can't treat as a punchline either) gets a funny and entertaining twist in Adams' work. While I view Sirens as a better novel, it took Adams to turn that absurdity into such an entertaining adventure.

This feels like an accomplishment to have finally read. Not because it was a challenging read or anything, but simply because it’s one of *those* books I’ve had on my radar forever and just never got around to reading. I’m happy to report I really enjoyed it!

I won’t even bother explaining this book here because it’s so well loved and widely regarded as a staple of science fiction. But I will say this reading experience took me back to some of the stories I read and loved as a kid. It has the absurdity of something like Alice in Wonderland mixed with the tongue-in-cheek writing of a Lemony Snicket novel. It balances that wit with sincerity and big questions really well.

My only complaint is that the ending felt a bit lackluster. I would’ve enjoyed a bit more resolution for this installment, but I know this is a big series. Maybe someday I will continue with it!

***3 Stars***

This book was... weird.
But not bad weird.
Weirdly funny, weirdly entertaining and weirdly delightful.

Yet it had a certain ridiculousness to it, which is what made give it only 3 stars. But I also enjoyed reading it.
Will see if I'll ever feel like reading the other books in the series.

n  Watch my video review by clicking here.n

3.5 stars rounded up for goodreads. Was fun and silly, but ultimately felt like a poor mans Discworld that I would have enjoyed far more when I was younger.

چقدر این داستان جذاب بود!
راهنمای کهکشان اثر خودش رو روی زندگی واقعی گذاشته. برنامه ی ترجمه ی Big Fish! کامپیوتر Deep Thought! حوله ی استاپ زن ها!!!
چقدر خوشحالم که این داستان رو خوندم. بعضی قسمت ها واقعا خندیدم و یا با نیش باز لبخند زدم. بعضی قسمت ها هم با خودم گفتم ینی این مهملات چجوری به ذهن نویسنده رسیده؟!؟

شخصیت های داستان با قهرمان ها خیلی فاصله دارن. تو این داستان با یه رئیس جمهور ازخودراضی، یه اتواستاپ زن عجیب، یه زمینی بی خبر و بدبخت، یه ربات افسرده و یه کامپیوتر چاپلوس طرفیم.
ایده های داستان واقعا ناب هستن. این خاص ترین کتاب علمی تخیلیه که تا به حال خوندم! بارها و بارها غافلگیر شدم.

بهتون توصیه می‌کنم حتما و حتما و حتما بخونیدش!
خیلی هیجان زده ام که بقیه ی داستان رو بدونم. ای کاش می‌شد برای ادامه ی داستان به نمایشنامه ی رادیویی اش گوش بدم. شرط می‌بندم اونجوری لذت داستان صدبرابر می‌شد :)

پیوست :
فیلمشم دیدم و بانمک بود! البته کتابش بهتره!

Re-Read 4/2/22:

Read this book for the first time with my daughter. I figured it is a piece of culture and I'm nothing if not a man of culture. Plus, the secret is to bang the rocks together, guys.

Out of almost all of the hilarious things in this book, my daughter was supremely taken by:

"You want me," said Prosser, spelling out this new thought to himself, "to come and lie over there..."
"Yes."
"In front of the bulldozer?"
"Yes."
"Instead of Mr. Dent?"
"Yes."
"In the mud."
"In, as you say, the mud."


We have, in point of fact, put towels on our heads and acted out the scene more than a few times. Not 42 times, however. There are only so many hours in the day.

I think it was a hit. But we must always remember... Don't Panic.


Original Review:

I'm a firm believer that every budding reader ought to read this book first so they can be utterly and completely ruined for literature for the rest of their lives.

Of course, if you're an older reader, with experience and verve when it comes to words, you might also be completely ruined for literature for the rest of your life, too, but I'm not counting you. In fact, I don't care about you.

I have a towel.

And I know how to USE IT. It's almost, but not quite entirely unlike having a clue.


Fortunately, I, myself had been totally ruined for literature early on in my life and I think I might have read this book around seven or eight times before I got the idea that nothing else I would ever read would quite stack up to it, and afterward, I just decided to become Marvin and assume that the whole world was not quite worth living.

But, again, fortunately, I remembered that I was an Earthling and I could replace most of my cognitive centers with "What?" and get along quite nicely. So that's what I did and ever since I've been reading normal books and saying "What?" quite happily.

You SEE? Happy endings DO happen. As long as you're not a pot of Petunias. Of course, that story would take WAY too long to tell.

I think I want to grab a bite to eat. Maybe I ought to meet the meat.

Well, it's a rather tough one to review, isn't it?

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a sci-fi comedy with a good dose of philosophy, lots of loveable characters, and an ingeniously absurd plot. You’ve probably read the thing and wonder what I’m going to have to say about it. As it turns out, probably not a whole lot you haven’t heard before.

So, instead of that, I thought about giving you 42 quick thoughts on the novel. But then, that too seemed too daunting an affair to consider writing and would almost definitely be an unpleasant thing to read. I mean, really, towards the mid-point of such a list you’d just be getting into a list of snacks I ate in between reading.

In lieu of all that, I’ll be brief.

I liked this a lot. It was a nice break from the hard sci-fi I’ve found myself reading of late, and a good reminder that there’s a lot that can be done with the genre. Speaking of: do we have much other funny sci-fi out there? If so, do let me know in the comments.

Sorry to my fiancé for having put this one off for so long. I LOL’d like everyone used to LOL when the book came out rather than how we all LOL today. It was a great gift all those years ago, but I worry that if I had read it back then a wormhole might have opened up to drop it into the distant past of a far away alien civilization. And I think we all know how that sort of thing turns out.

There’s a lot of great writing to be found between these pages. A lot of it uses simple language, portmanteaus, and suitably wild looking alien words to convey a world in which anything might happen. Very often that very anything does happen (see: orbital sperm whale).

I had a good bit of fun and will touch back with the rest of the books in the omnibus later in the year. I think I’ll be visiting them whenever I need a good laugh, or feel like something a bit lighter.

I read this book because it is my boyfriends' favorite series. I struggled with it so much. I already struggle with fantasy, and this book didn't explain what is happening thoroughly and develop the characters enough right away in the beginning. So like I said I really struggled.

However, I watched the movie and according to my boyfriend there was a lot in the movie that wasn't in the book, so I guess that didn't help.