Here's another science fiction classic I found at a used book store. Its reputation precedes it, and you've probably heard about its most famous scene, in which a computer that has been toiling away for 7.5 million years finally confirms that the answer to "life, the universe, and everything" is, simply, forty-two. Yes - forty-two is the answer to life, the universe, and everything. The issue is that no one knows what the right question is. The book is filled with this type of erratic wise-assery and manages to carry throughout it a lighthearted sense of dark humor. It is, in other words, exactly as you'd expect a British science fiction novel from 1979 to be. At just over 200 pages, it was just long enough for me to start to get a sense of at least the very main character, but it flew by at too fast a pace and spent too little time on long-term story-building to make any sort of lasting impression beyond a few scattered memorable scenes and anecdotes. I suppose that since the book is the first in a series of five, it can be forgiven for zipping around between zany chapters at the expense of characterization and overall theme-building. Then again, given the style and tone of the novel, I don't see why or how its various follow-ups would change things up. I don't think I'll be going out of my way to read the next book in the series, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. I liked this one just fine, but not enough to wonder what comes next or to find myself craving more of Douglas Adams' witticisms. File this one under "glad to have read it but ready to move on" and we'll see what pops up on Back-Blogged next time.
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