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A review by dantastic
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
3.0
Now that I've finished the second book in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy in Five Parts, I have to admit I'm not as enamored with it as I was when I last read it at 23.
This book is over 40 years old so stop now if you haven't read it.
Arthur, Ford, Zaphod, and Trillion go through some shit, wind up at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, go through some more shit, and wind up at separate destinations, both punctuating the futility of everything they've done so far. I wonder if Adams had meant this to be it. There's a sense of finality in both threads, both Arthur and Ford on their prehistoric planet and Zaphod and Trillian at the hut of the man that runs the universe.
The jokes are still good, although not as good as the first book. Marvin's final fate or parking cars at the end of the universe is fitting and I have to think the staff on Futurama had it in mind when they left Bender in Roswell in the past and picked up him 1000 years later like nothing happened.
One thing that bugs me now that I didn't notice when I was 23 is that Zaphod is the only character with any agency in the first two books. The rest have things happen to them and they react. They're all very passive.
I guess I'm going to keep going at least through the third book. I'd say I don't want to tarnish my memories of the subsequent books but all I remember at this point is Arthur being a sandwich maker at some future time.
This book is over 40 years old so stop now if you haven't read it.
Arthur, Ford, Zaphod, and Trillion go through some shit, wind up at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, go through some more shit, and wind up at separate destinations, both punctuating the futility of everything they've done so far. I wonder if Adams had meant this to be it. There's a sense of finality in both threads, both Arthur and Ford on their prehistoric planet and Zaphod and Trillian at the hut of the man that runs the universe.
The jokes are still good, although not as good as the first book. Marvin's final fate or parking cars at the end of the universe is fitting and I have to think the staff on Futurama had it in mind when they left Bender in Roswell in the past and picked up him 1000 years later like nothing happened.
One thing that bugs me now that I didn't notice when I was 23 is that Zaphod is the only character with any agency in the first two books. The rest have things happen to them and they react. They're all very passive.
I guess I'm going to keep going at least through the third book. I'd say I don't want to tarnish my memories of the subsequent books but all I remember at this point is Arthur being a sandwich maker at some future time.