The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Original Title: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Turkish Title: Otostopçunun Galaksi Rehberi
English Title: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Author: Douglas Adams
Pages: 246
My Rating: 4/5
While I was reading this book…: … I was asked if I was reading the Quran.

WHY THIS BOOK?
Being a late comer to the great world of sci-fi literature, it’s been a must-read book for me for quite some time. I bought the whole series long ago but I didn’t started reading it. Thanks to a book challenge, I read it finally.

THE STORY:
It is the story of Arthur Dent who ends up leaving the Earth seconds before the Earth is demolished. Of course, Arthur didn’t do on his own. Ford Prefect, an outsider who happened to be in Earth at the time to make research for the latest edition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, helps him. Arthur and Ford start an adventurous journey through the galaxy. They come across many interesting characters, like two-headed, three-armed Zaphod Beeblebrox, Zaphod’s girlfriend, Trillian, Marvin (the most depressed android ever). If you want to learn about why we die or why we are born, you should read this book.

MY COMMENTS:
It is the funniest, most enjoyable sci-fi book I read till now. It’s a classic and one of 1001 books you should read before you die. It was a perfect summer read for me. I laughed quite a lot throughout the book even though I was reading the Turkish translation. Douglas Adams wrote such a masterpiece that not even a tiny bit of laughter gets lost in translation.

I ended up reading this book as it was published in the year I was born: 1979. I loved the dose of sci-fi content. I liked the sarcasm. From time to time, I got a bit disconnected with some of the characters but it wasn’t a big deal as I quickly found my way. I loved the android with manic depression. Wouldn’t you like it?

It was nice to get away from the regular plots I have been reading lately. It was a nice summer refreshment. An entertaining book I recommend to all (even those who think they wouldn’t like sci-fi).

APPLICABLE CHALLENGES:
It was my first Douglas Adams novel so I can count it for New Author Challenge.
This was one of the books I picked up as time travel for WFTM Science Fiction Reader Challenge.
I chose this book for Semi-Charmed Summer 2012 Book Challenge as “a book written in the year I was born”
This book was also in my list for The Classics Club.