ive decided Douglas Adam's is not for me

Submitted by Myron_Bolitar t3_10a5tt0 in books

I just finished Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and The restaurant at the end of the universe. After throughly enjoying the Movie Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Pluse I always was told by my geeky friends growing up that i would enjoy the books. I finally got through them.

I didn't mind HG2TG, but i wouldn't say i enjoyed it. The ending was just bla.. Then, the restaurant at the end of the universe, to me just amplified and highlighted everything i didn't like about his writing style. I don't like his transitions between chapters or people. Plus I'm reading it about 40 years late. The jokes just don't land with me. Like its not horrible. But I'm not interested in continuing to read anymore of this stuff.

So i acknowledge that this is my own opinion. But I'm wondering if anyone else has a similar experience?

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laterbacon t1_j42benq wrote

It's a distinct style of humor that I quite enjoy, but I definitely see how it can be unappealing to others

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schnager t1_j4542p6 wrote

It asks that the readers have a modicum of intelligence, something modern "writing" doesn't require anymore

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GraniteGeekNH t1_j469yht wrote

ah, the old "I like a thing, therefore it requires extra smartness" argument - very persuasive.

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cronenburj t1_j45jbvc wrote

It's twee and droll, not exactly intelligent.

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molotovPopsicle t1_j42cijr wrote

i feel like those books were great when i was in middle school, but i can't do it anymore. yes, i think you were too late to that particular party

interesting you liked the movie, i thought is was kind of horrible

another point about Adams is that he was an old BBC radio/TV writer. he wrote for dr. who in the 70s and was invovled with the most popular run of that era. so it's really that he's part of a larger group of creatives that were coming from a particular place that doesn't exist anymore. it's no wonder that people of more recent generations aren't immediately drawn to it when you are divorced from the context

this of course can start a whole conversation about art's context and it's ability to communicate something outside of their original context and so on, but i think there's good points to be made on either side of that argument. HHGTG just kind of is-what-it-is and it's really hard to view it in a vacuum

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tttxgq t1_j42aos2 wrote

I agree. As I recall, my opinion at the time I read Hitchhiker’s… was that he writes a lot of non-sequiturs, and it just didn’t make me laugh. I think I felt like he was trying too hard to be random or unpredictable. I could be totally wrong about it and doubtless there will be Adams fans who disagree, but that was just my take on it.

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stefswa t1_j42dq0z wrote

I don't agree that he's "trying to be random". Imo he always (next to the non-sequiturs) had these build ups that then amount to something incredibly pointless and stupid and that's what's so funny to me.

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Eire_Banshee t1_j449vfa wrote

That's what kills it for me though. It feels like he doesn't even take his own book seriously. Like everything is a joke and the book has no purpose.

I thought it was a fun read with some funny one liners, but I never understood all the hype

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stefswa t1_j45fww3 wrote

Yeah that's exactly why i like it. IMO too many people/things take themselves too seriously. Everything is a joke and the book does indeed not have a purpose, because not everything has to be serious and have a purpose. That's why IMO the book is funnier than some comic relief in an otherwise serious book.

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DannyRand72 t1_j4aitep wrote

thats kind of the point of it, he beats you over the head constantly with the idea that everything is random and meaningless.

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transmogrified t1_j433613 wrote

Totally agree with the non-sequitur thing. I felt like I could open any one of his books and read pages at random and get the exact same experience as having read through the book in order. It did not keep me very engaged. I had him recommended to me due to my undying love of Terry Pratchett and it was just so... meh in comparison.

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Master_Shitster t1_j439ffc wrote

I’ve recently read the 3 first Discworld books amd feel the opposite way. They feel like an inferior version of the Adam’s books.

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boxer_dogs_dance t1_j43owyf wrote

The first two discworld books in order are sub par. If you want to give it another shot, try something later like Going Postal or Small Gods. But Pratchett has a strong voice and it is not for everyone. The first two books are parody of very specific classic fantasy tropes and they don't hit the same way today.

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Purple1829 t1_j49yoqp wrote

Since you mentioned Pratchett. I’ve always been intrigued by Discworld, but I find long series’ to be so daunting, I usually never start them at all.

I’ve heard Discworld isn’t quite as linear though? I’m particularly interested in Night Watch, since I’m a time travel nerd.

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schnager t1_j454jwl wrote

the point being that everybody keeps forgetting that the characters that are followed in the story are not what the books are about

It's meant to be a guide giving you all sorts of information on all the peculiarities of the galaxy and how one might traverse said peculiarities while spending very little for transportation services

The main character in every iteration is The Guide.

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dolphineclipse t1_j43euxr wrote

The radio series is better than the books

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thatlousynick t1_j43h74v wrote

I kind of enjoy the discursive riffing writing Adams does...but I don't think the Hitchhikers books are the best example of that. Especially since, as you say, a lot of the jokes have become a little stale over the years (in that Monty Python-esque way, perhaps).

I think Adams is wonderful at pointing out the sheer absurdity of life, and how actually utterly amazing the things we take for granted really are. But that's something that's easier to do when he's riffing off stuff that are more directly connected to everyday life or the world as we know it, rather than the equally absurd and amazing but unreal universe of H2G2.

That's perhaps better seen in the Dirk Gently books - but Adams is way better in his non-fiction, as can be seen in And Another Thing, which collects a random assortment of essays on computers, and evolution, and money, and you know, just life, the universe and everything, right? There's plenty of fun to be had when we're making fun of

And Last Chance to see, the biodiversity conservation travelogue he did with Mark Carwardine, is one of my top 10 favourites of all time in both environmental and travel writing. Edutainment at its finest.

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boxer_dogs_dance t1_j43pdvc wrote

Thank you for Last Chance to See. I started my love for books about animals with Willard Price children's books about collecting for zoos. I have followed this interest my entire life.

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EinFahrrad t1_j458ra0 wrote

If the Hitchhiker is not for you, that's understandable. But you really, really should give "Last chance to see" a, uhm, chance, as it were. It really is a wonderful book.

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Myron_Bolitar OP t1_j45vs0n wrote

Quite a few people have said that. Ill have to check it out.

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Admirable-Volume-263 t1_j45za02 wrote

I have read a lot of sci-fi. I've been trying to get through the first part of this book for MONTHS. I just can't. I haven't found any redeeming qualities in this book at all, which is a huge disappointment. For all the love that series has gotten, it seems very undeserved.

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loneacer t1_j42bnc6 wrote

I agree. That's the only book I've ever stopped reading without finishing.

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ToastieBurns t1_j42c9rq wrote

Loved the radio series and the BBC 2 series at the time and of course the books, thought the movie was rotten though. Picked it up to read again during the COVID lockdown and just couldn't get into it, I was about 13/14 when it originally came out so maybe it's just an age thing, but I was disappointed that I couldn't feel the same reading it now.

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Ok-Explanation-1234 t1_j44v657 wrote

How old are you?

Like the other commenter who liked it in middle school (me too), I can see you not liking it if you are past a magic age, which is early teens through perhaps college. I have this same theory about The Great Gatsby. The magical relatable age for the book to be good is not 17. It's much older.

I also think it's one of those things that works well when you heard the jokes the first time. And that was the movie. So it ruined the books for you. A lot of fans don't like the movie. Perhaps it's because they've heard the jokes before.

Frankly, the best part of THGTTG is the beginning of the first book. I think I've read four of them. The energy is hard to keep up.

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Myron_Bolitar OP t1_j45wnv9 wrote

Almost 40. So i liked the jokes better in the movie... mostly. I do have to say i like Marvin the robot from the book better but i totally read his lines in allen Rickman voice. I liked the relationship dynamic of Trisha and Arthur in the movie so much better. The fancy dress party was shown then called back to when they were in space dieing rather then fist introduced then. It just made it land better for me. Trisha isn't completely written off like she is in the books. I felt everyone except zaphod was smarter in the movie.

One thing i do like, is now i have explanation for all the "fan service" the movie did that i never understood before. The crabs, the horse chair, the 2 heads.

I love the introduction of needing corrdinats to make it to magratha.

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SporadicCabbage t1_j44x1xz wrote

I always preferred the radio shows myself.

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schnager t1_j453ycs wrote

It doesn't make too much sense the first time until you read all 6 books of the trilogy

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crunchalo t1_j45bsny wrote

I found there to be little or no subtlety in the humor. It was like a slapstick book. Have to be in a mood I guess.

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reeo_hamasaki t1_j45t7mn wrote

did you...did you apostrophe-s a dude's name? not even a plural whiff, the dude's actual name

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Myron_Bolitar OP t1_j45vpfb wrote

Sorry english is my 2nd language. My first is telepathy, but that doesn't work online. Lol

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GraniteGeekNH t1_j469dqw wrote

HGG was his one-hit wonder, really - definitely don't try the Dirk Gentley detective books, ugh

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DannyRand72 t1_j4aiqlz wrote

i was a kid when i got into it, and there werent that many things with that type of humor. Monty Python in reruns on PBS and that was it. I dont know if id like it if i got into it now, that type of absurdist humor is in almost everything, now.

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Jemeloo t1_j4ei5no wrote

I think it’s dated for sure. It was a novel humor at the time. I wouldn’t reread.

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jezra t1_j42c22w wrote

similar yes, but I stopped with the the first book.

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minimalist_coach t1_j42p6qe wrote

I'm pretty much the same, I've had people who know me say I'll love it. I loved the movie although it's been a while since I've watched it. I read HG2TG last year and it wasn't good enough for me to consider the next in the series.

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DreamingOfManderley t1_j432bea wrote

I decided to read this book because the series is one of my dad’s favourites. I purchased it at Waterstones and when I went to pay the girl at the till couldn’t stop gushing about it. Then I read it and was like… ‘is that it?’ I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s an acquired test. My dad also loves Terry Pratchett (who I feel had the same sort of humour) and I could never get into his work.

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warhysterix t1_j43bt2k wrote

I read the 5 books of the series

1st book : great

2nd : good

3rd : so-so

4th : bad

5th: very bad

​

The first one is worth a read if only for the fun of noticing its influence on pop culture. I read it twice and could definitely see myself reading it again eventually. It's short and easy to read. A classic.

The 2nd one has a cool unique concept which drags a little but I'm happy I read it. The fun stopped there.

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schnager t1_j454s0r wrote

So you didn't enjoy that The Guide was the main character in the later books? typical response repeated ad nauseum in here 🤣

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SonnyCalzone t1_j43np7y wrote

Skip HG2TG. It was good for a chuckle at the time, I suppose. But it hasn't aged well at all. Even whatever goodwill/nostalgia it seemed like there was for it, way back in 2005 when that awful film adaptation came out, has long since evaporated by all accounts.

  • For an enjoyable time with Douglas Adams, I recommend reading his book Last Chance To See; his non-fiction masterpiece about travelling the globe and seeing endangered species of wildlife.
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rlnrlnrln t1_j43orju wrote

I have decided to not reread them, basically due to the fact they would not appeal to me now. I'd rather have the fond memory than a recent experience!

If you still feel like giving Adams a chance, I'd recommend "Good Omens" (written together with Neil Gaiman) and "Last chance to see" (written together with Mark Carwadine). Both have a less zany tone (well, differently zany, at least) than the Hitchhiker books.

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