# The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

By Douglas Adams · The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, book 1

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/the-hitchhiker-s-guide-to-the-galaxy-2a575615/

Arthur Dent is trying to stop the council from flattening his house when Earth itself faces demolition for a space highway. His best friend turns out to be an alien, and Arthur leaves the planet with a towel and a guidebook whose cover advises him not to panic.

## What makes it funny?

The council insists Arthur had fair warning about his house: the notice was hidden in a locked filing cabinet in a disused lavatory. That exchange sets up a universe where an official can follow procedure and still be spectacularly unreasonable.

### The comedy at work

Adams's narrator makes digressions part of the joke, explaining bypasses through points A and B before assigning another point to a council employee's preferred pub. Arthur's ordinary worries, including his desire for tea, give the cosmic disasters a stubbornly domestic scale.

### Try this if…

Readers who enjoy dry narration and satire of officialdom have plenty to work with here. The opening takes detours to pursue a joke; the appeal includes the narrator's explanations as much as Arthur's predicament.

### Good to know

Check which version you're buying: the novel shares its title with radio and screen adaptations. The Pan 42nd Anniversary paperback adds archival material and an introduction by Russell T Davies. The next novel is The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

## What to expect

- Genre: Science fiction
- Kind of humor: Absurdism · Dry wit · Satire
- Format: Novel
- Length: 224 pages
- Audiobook: 5 hr 51 min

## Sources & further reading

- Book information: [Apple Books lists The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Unabridged) by Douglas Adams, narrated by Stephen Fry, at 5 hours 51 minutes.](https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-unabridged/id1418261204)
- Publisher: [Pan Macmillan identifies The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams as a paperback, 224 pages, ISBN 9781529034523.](https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/douglas-adams/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy/9781529034523)
- Publisher: [Publisher & opening chapter](https://penguinrandomhousesecondaryeducation.com/book?isbn=9780345391803)
- Publisher: [Publisher](https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/douglas-adams/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy/9781529034523)