Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

[Kommodus]

After viewing the Harry Potter thread, I have a literary question of my own... has anyone read the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" books? If so, what did you think?

I just finished them myself and have mixed feelings. There were many passages I found completely hilarious, but after a while the complete randomness of many events became disorienting and tiresome. The sheer irrationality of it all was a bit much to cope with.

I also found there to be strong philosophical undertones throughout the entire series, but especially in the last book. It's as if the writer's own experiences as a wanderer in a diverse and confusing world that doesn't make sense to him find their expression in the universal human cry for somewhere to belong, to call home. Themes of disconnectedness, alienation, existentialism, purposelessness, and despair pervade the entire series - which may be a bit surprising considering the light-hearted tone of it all. It's not quite what I expected when I bought it.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

[Geoffrey S]

For a while, it's great; best read in short bursts to keep it as entertaining as possible.

[Kommodus]

For a while, it's great; best read in short bursts to keep it as entertaining as possible.

Ah, so you're saying I shouldn't have read it diligently day after day, for sometimes upwards of an hour each sitting? That may explain why I always found it funny when I first sat down to read, then increasingly bizarre and random as time wore on.

[Geoffrey S]

Perhaps; I know that longer periods of reading were less funny to me, and that in general I picked it up and read it for some 15 minutes at a time between other books, so I guess the humour stayed fresh.

[Reverend Joe]

They were really funny. In my opinion, they were a much better, if far more psychedelic, version of the 2001 series.

Too bad the movie was unwatchable.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Couldn't stand them, more of a Terry Pratchett fan.

[Lazul]

I loved all of it... sure some parts werent very funny, but I really loved all the references to the actuall "Guide"