The previous post was about the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (from herein referred to
as Zen) which I was told, somewhat misguidedly,
was a brilliant read, enmeshing philosophy and literature in equal measure. This
post is about a book that, once again, I was advised to read. I must start by
explaining that my first advisor, who told me to read Zen, was far less reputable than the second, and this therefore bestowed upon me a measure of incredulity before I had even embarked upon Zen.
My incredulity, as shown in the previous post, was
reasonable and eventually validated, as the book didn’t even meet my cynically
low expectations. The book at the heart of this post, The Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy, is, in my opinion, Zen’s antithesis. Whereas Zen managed to be worse than my already low expectations,
Hitchhiker’s managed to surpass my already
high expectations.
Some examples of why literature is so wonderful are contained
in the above paragraphs. The fact that I have read two books that are
very important to two friends of mine, one which I loved, one which I reviled (the
books, not the friends), illustrates the vast array of peoples tastes, and how
one can be moved by a novel that another companion may find abhorrent. The fact
that one can read a book that another abhors, and then one can simply delve into a
book one finds as encapsulating, and fantastical as I found Hitchhiker’s, shows how personable, and
joyous the experience of literature can be.
Furthermore, it shows that literature is crazed and capricious,
unpredictable, fascinating, boring and just about every other adjective. It demonstrates
how even a book that one finds terrible has an important role; it could be seen
as preparation for a book like Hitchhikers,
dare I say fate. Perhaps this is slightly too romantic.
Nonetheless, Hitchhiker’s
was a completely different experience from Zen. It has exquisite comedic elements embroiled in a plot that is
quite moving. Douglas Adam has the mind of a child, an extremely refined and
intelligent child, and this is what is so wonderful, it brings you into his
innate mindset, a framework that produces some of the most flamboyant,
marvellous sequences to ever grace a page.
Each character, from the depressed ‘paranoid android’
Marvin, to the eccentric president of the galaxy, Zaphod Beetlebrox, is endlessly entertaining and bring a charm and charisma so whimsical and absurd
that they would be impossible to dislike. The story, while fanciful
and bizarre, does contain elements of verisimilitude through the exploits and
personality of protagonist Arthur Dent.
He’s lost his earth, his friends and most importantly,
his house and is stranded in a galaxy that makes so little sense. And while he
is, at times, understandably plaintive, he also marvels at the delights of his
new life, a life as different and unbelievable as one could imagine in the
wildest of one’s imagination.
The book entails the energy that is rarely found in literature,
a vast, fast-paced vacuum of intelligence expressed in the most sardonic way. It is a book that one should not take too seriously while
paradoxically reading it with the utmost reverence.
In the prologue, Russell T. Davies, who is responsible for
the revival of Doctor Who, amongst other things, explains that the beauty of Hitchhiker’s is that it is a book everyone
should pass around and share, both physically and mentally. And I thoroughly
agree, this is the book that your friends must read, this is the book that will
have them reporting back with such a zeal and enthusiasm, one that can only be matched by
your own.
This isn’t Beckett or Joyce, this isn’t an epic novel, this
isn’t the book that ostentatious hipsters will tell their friends to read, simply because
they understood it after they had searched meretriciousness through its Wikipedia pages.
No, this is better, this is a funny and awe-inspiring book, it is something
that you can enjoy without the pressure of not enjoying it, you can read this
novel without feeling inadequate or inferior, there is no real challenge, there
are no obstacles, this book is the reason people wrote fiction in the first
place, for their enjoyment and for the enjoyment of their readers.
