Arthur Dent didn't have a clue. From beginning to end he almost completely failed to grasp the significance of the
galaxy into which he was thrown after the Earth was destroyed by galactic bureaucrats with a hidden agenda. It took an alien, Ford Prefect, to begin Arthur's initiation into the wider mysteries of the cosmos and Arthur struggled to cope with the strangeness of living as an
alien himself. The bizarre culture of the unexpected left him perplexed and deeply troubled by things he didn't understand and had never imagined. He had worked in television advertising back on the now-vanished Earth. His travels through the galaxy were only manageable with the help of the continually-frustrated Ford, who worked as field agent for the peculiar and popular HIchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The Guide embodied survival in a sometimes hostile galaxy and Ford had been trapped on Earth far too long. As the Earth was being destroyed, Ford hitched a
ride on one of the ships that blew the Earth away, taking Arthur along for the ride. Ford was glad to be on the road again. Arthur coped with a mixture of shock and speechless panic. As their
journey unfolds, Arthur
meets the with most extraordinary variety of intelligent life forms, who are often incomprehensibly rude and unsympathetic. Or just incomprehensible. Sometimes it's all too much. Arthur somehow copes with a combination of bewilderment and good, strong tea, which he discovers is hard to come by in this alien galaxy. The strangest thing of all is the Heart of Gold, a fabulous, mind-bending spaceship which plucks Arthur and Ford out of space when they are in deep trouble. The touble only deepens as Arthur meets with the only other survivor from Earth and the alien who'd adopted her as his companion. Then their journey really begins.
More reviews about the The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy