It is amazing what time can do. I read this book when I was in high school and I will admit that I didn't really get it but I read it because I said that I was going to. Surprise, I did not like it at all. I finished it by a sheer act of will and I was really glad when it was over.
The only reason I decided to read it again was that it hitched a ride in my bag on my trip to Colorado and I finished my other book sooner than I had thought and I needed something to read. Pretty interesting that the book hitched a ride and the book is about hitchhikers. I took it as a good sign and opened the book again.
This book is a lot funnier with age. I am still not going to be praising this book to the skies but I did find myself laughing at some of the events. For example, the destruction of the house vs the destruction of the planet. Now, don't misunderstand me and think "this chick thinks that the destruction of the planet is funny! Bitch!!" I just saw the parallelism in the two events. Arthur did not know that his house was going to be demolished and the gentlemen that were there to tear it down couldn't understand how he didn't know! The orders were located in the city hall, in the basement!! Duh!! The same thing happens when the Vogons are there to demolish Earth, the orders were there on another planet, there to be viewed by anyone. I feel that way a lot with governmental things, the information is there but no one will help you out if you are having trouble finding it. "Oh, you didn't see it? Too bad, the information was there for you to see. Oh you didn't know where to look? Too bad, you should have known, Now, give me your house!"
So, are human beings the most intelligent being on this planet? According to the novel, no. Human beings are not even the second most intelligent being on this planet. The second smartest are the dolphins, "so long and thanks for the fish!!" The most intelligent beings are the mice. The interesting thing about this is that so many experiments are made on mice, especially when it comes to behavior. Arthur even says that so many scientists have learned so much from studying the mice. What if the mice were actually using humans for experiments? Interesting thought. I like things like that, when an author takes a popular idea and turns it on its head. Something to think about...
In the end, the book is entertaining but not my favorite. I read it in a car going across western Kansas, not the most exciting. This is definitely a book to enjoy with a beer underneath a night sky. Glad I gave it another chance.
Next up is Tolstoy's Anna Karenina
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