HHGTHG 2

Hilarious novel filled with tons of philosophy, space ships, time travel, the end of the universe and more!

A book that really makes you think just how small you are in this universe! A fun sequel, but still suffers from the unfortunate fact that Arthur Dent doesn’t really do anything as a main character. ( )

Ten noteworthy things about this book (other than Marvin, whose every utterance is pure gold):

1. Funny even on repeat reads/listens, because of the layers of humor
2. Satire on bureaucracies and bureaucratic personalities
3. Finds humor in existential and depressive crises (looking at you, Marvin)
4. Linkages between seemingly unrelated details (related: this story can be read as an ode to the butterfly effect)
5. How Douglas Adams manages to capture physical/slapstick humor with the written word (credit also goes to Martin Freeman in the audiobook version)
6. Such a satisfying ending!
7. A multidisciplinary work, in its allusions to foundational concepts of anthropology, sociology, evolution, mathematics...
8. The deliberate depiction of Arthur Dent as the most human of humans, an Average Joe with almost no distinguishing characteristics
9. The discussion of the paradox of who is fit to be a political leader versus who wants to become a political leader sums up my views on the topic perfectly
10. The book manages to perfectly capture human fickleness and fallibility without falling into cynicism ( )

Amazing book. Love the humor in it. Make me laugh out loud many times. ( )

I am in the process of reading the Galaxy series in order. In my youth I read all the books. I decided to try reading the series in order at this stage of my life.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe is especially profound today as it deals with the destruction of Earth and society wasting time and energy on the frivolous. ( )