Nerve Endings Firing Away

As mentioned before, I finished the book just in time for the movie. The plot is now well-known and takes off from where all alien-invading movies are supposed to end i.e. destruction of earth. Ford Prefect (a joke lost out on Americans who think it is perfect misspelled), an alien living on Earth for 15 years hitchhikes a ride on a passing spaceship and takes along an Earthling, Arthur Dent before the Earth blows up in a million pieces to make way for a intergalactic superhighway. Usually not a big fan of sci-fi, the book would have lost me had it not been for the hilarious dry Brit humor. A maniacally depressed robot, an enthusiastic and talkative computer bunched with crazed aliens with a fondness for poetry make the story fast-paced (I took only one albeit long break between two sessions of reading) and extremely funny.

Sci-fi, if treated seriously, is unbelievable for me because virtually everything is allowed and you can never find any holes in the tale. If you do, you get a standard reply; “who knows it might be possible in the future”. However, Hitchhiker’s Guide uses sarcasm effectively to get the point across; making fun of sci-fi while not departing too far away from the genre. The book plays entirely in your head and you find yourself being amused with a gadget’s expressions, of all the things in the world. Don’t judge the book too early or be bogged down by the subtle humor because ‘Resistance is useless’. Effects of the book’s impact can be seen even in today’s web technologies especially regards to Babelfish – the translation tool.

I look forward to reading the rest of Douglas Adams’ works in the Hitchhiker series. As for the movie, tomorrow first day last show.