Why are Douglas Adams's writings so funny and engaging and best selling despite lacking the basics ___?

Question

Most what adam's write lacks plot and theme. Almost no element of strugle (no clear protagonist/anatagonist) exept in few semi isloated sketches. Characters are paper thin and cartoonish, narration passes through lots of sudden illogical twists. sentences are long , some times too long and often a same word is repeated three or four times in one sentence.Yet the stories are wonderfull to read , very funny and quite scuessfull as far as sales are concerned?

Answer 1

Douglas Adams is enjoyable, because of his ability to describe things in an irrational manner.

For example, "The large yellow ships hung in the air the way bricks don't."

He also was able to bring about quirky humor with his simple ideas, very similar to the way Kurt Vonnegut does. By keeping it simple, every point comes across that much more fully. Characters remain abstract and allow you to create your own interpretations of them. Overly long sentences is not uncommon in literature, even in your more classical writers, so no biggy there. As for plot, I thought it was pretty decent. For theme, try rereading the first 2 pages of Hitchhiker, and tell me he wasn't making a point about the irrationality of humans, and their misplaced sense of belonging based on money.

Despite his lack of the basics, what it boils down to is the fact that he told a great story, and engages the reader with his fantastic sense of humor.

Answer 2

I'll agree that he doesn't waste time with character development, but there certainly IS a protagonist, and the entire 5-book trilogy (STILL funny) is one long struggle: it's Arthur Dent against the Universe. Incidentally, I always thought the absurd logic in narration, the non-sequitors and the flagrant disregard for basic structure were part of the humor. Best section: from Earth: Mostly Harmless, when Arthur Dent is waiting in the train station canteen. The digression about train station food is cripplingly funny.

Answer 3

Because most peoples lives are like that. And we can identify with the nature of the problem if not the problem iteslf.

We start do do something and a 1000 things get in our way. What Adams did was to exploit the stories in those distractions.

Far from 'paper thin' characters might I suggest that other novelests 'overdevelop'?

Answer 4

i read the hitchhiker series, and i think you are completely *** wrong in your first two sentences. But after that you're dead on.

I never wasted my time on English classes so I wasn't aware of the idea that something can't be funny and engaging if it doesn't adhere to some stodgy set of rules.