The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

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Douglas Adams: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

Author	Douglas Adams
Made	Del Rey
Date	1995-09-27
Media	Mass Market Paperback
Catalog	Book
Sales Rank	285930
Availability	Usually ships in 24 hours
Our Price*	US$7.99

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Reviews:

Rating 4.5/5 from 117 reviews

Quick, easy and fun

Rating: 3/5 2008-06-16

A quick, fun read which left an indelible impression on my mind's eye. I think about the Restaurant itself frequently and hope I can visit it at some point in the future.

stand-up comedy to challenge the mind

Rating: 4/5 2008-06-11

Intolerably funny. But if you thought you could get away with Douglas Adams without thinking about the Big Questions in life, no such luck! While putting mortality 2 million years out is a great way to soften the blow, the question is still, "OK, you got a life for a little while, whatta ya gonna do about it?"

just as good as the first book

Rating: 5/5 (1 out of 1 think this is helpful) 2008-05-25

This, the second book in the The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy science fiction comedy series, continues the humerous story in the same fast passed tempo as the first one.

We are thrown right into a drama where a Vogon spaceship is trying to blow up the heart of gold, the fabulous space ship that Zaphod stoled during his time as president of the galaxy. As it turns out Zaphod had locked up parts of his brain prior to becoming president and a good deal of this book deals with him trying to recover this hidden memory. At one point Zaphod even getts caught up in a spaceship that has been delayed for departure, due to missing paper napkins, for 400 years. After many twists and turns we end up at the restaurant at the end of the universe. With the ever unlucky Marvin, due to a mishap in time travel, having to actually wait until the end of the universe (several million years) for the others to turn up.

At the restaurant, they steal a funky black spaceship which, as it later turns out, is destined to crash into a Sun during a interstellar rock concert. They eventually rescue them self by using a malfunctioned teleport, which unfortunately hurls everyone uncontrollably through out space. Zaphod and Trillian eventually ends up at the real president of the universe, meanwhile Ford and Artur are stranded in a space ship filled with management consultants, hairdressers and telephone sanitizers. Eventually they crashes on prehistoric earth, where its original inhabitants quickly goes extinct, but alas the crew of the spaceship survives and quickly call earth their new home.

As in the first book you find yourself laughing out loud at least once on every page. The humor is intelligent, subtle and extremely bizarre - eventually you end up racing through it, just to get to the next kick and yet it is still a well composed book containing a great story. In short a highly recommended page turner.

Where galactic hitchhikers eat

Rating: 5/5 (1 out of 1 think this is helpful) 2008-05-22

After enjoying both the book and the movie, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I decided that I absolutely, positively and at all costs read the other books in Douglas Adams hilarious trilogy in five parts.
When we left Zaphod, Ford, Trillian, Arthur, and Marvin, they were on their way for a meal at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Now, the five are being attacked by Vogons trying to finish the extermination of the human race (due to orders given them). The five escape, but end up separated. Zaphod lands near the office of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and suddenly begins to remember things that he had buried before becoming president--the steps to who rules the universe and who may be able to provide the Ultimate Question to the Ultimate Answer of Life, the Universe, and Everything.

Good:
Douglas Adams' sense of humor is what really shines in this book. He is adept at creating comical situations, playing on stereotypes and providing a humorous outlet. For example, he satirizes middle-men (i.e. hairdressers, management, etc.) when the middle-men of a certain culture are tricked to leave their planet, leaving behind all the smart people and all the people who do the work the smart people demand.
Furthermore, Douglas Adams bucks the system of creating admirable heroes and heroines. Zaphod is a selfish moron, more interested in being well-fed than other lives (and who doesn't think twice about stealing); Ford is (generally) a spineless hitchhiker. Arthur desires only to have a nice cup of tea, and Trillian doesn't necessarily stick her neck out for anyone else (although she was not very prominent in the book so it would be hard to say).
The story is smart and interesting, with twists and turns that no one would expect. Also, Adams intertwines science in it at appropriate places to make it sound convincing while refusing to let it bog down his story. I enjoyed how it was easy to read and quick as well.

Bad:
The story at times seems to exist mainly to show outrageous situations and make satirical remarks about society. I haven't read the whole series, so I can't quite say if these events make a difference later on, but going from being attacked to talking to a dead man to being transported to a distant planet to being carried from that planet in a building to another planet just makes me want to take a break and nap (and this is only less than halfway through the book!).
Sometimes I felt that the book went by too quickly and ended too abruptly. I won't completely blame the book as several sequels have this element (Empire Strikes Back comes instantly to mind). Also, Trillian and Marvin do not play as much of a role in this one.

Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
Primarily British invectives, like "bloody".
Girlfriends are mentioned along with Zaphod's desire to be on the beach with 50 beautiful women.
People die during a planet crash. Officers carry guns. Other than that, the violence is rather minimal.

Overall:
There is so much to like about this book that it almost totally eclipses what may be considered "bad". Douglas Adams' writing style is so clean and so hysterically funny that I can easily forgive the rather outrageous plot and the brisk pace. Definitely, if you liked Hitchhiker's, you will enjoy Restaurant.

The Insain Book of Nonsense

Rating: 5/5 2008-01-08

Review of
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
By Mid-Prairie Teen

Arthur Dent, Trillian (the last humans in the universe), Marvin (a depressed robot), Ford Perfect (Dent's Friend), and Zaphood Bebblebrox (ex-hippie, ex- galactic president) are in for another crazy wacky adventure. After the explosion of the black ship and the separating of the friends, we rejoin Arthur on Earth 2.0. His friend Ford is no where around and he decide to go mad and he thinks he sees Ford over him. "I tried that," stated Ford, "but I discovered that one must not decide to go mad, but to decide to let him be overcome by insanity."
Is this the real Ford Perfect, do the friends ever reunite, do they ever learn to fly, and will Zaphood ever find his soul? So many questions that may, or may not, are answered as you read.
This is not a book for those who need to understand a book to enjoy it. If one tries their head would probably explode. This book is for the people who read a book for other reasons. The insanely loopy paths this book takes and the reversed, jumbled, nonsense words make this book purely hilarious. Douglas Adams my have outdone himself with this book, the craziness in this book is so well sloped together that he has mad a wok of art.
This book has draw backs of course; the share of mild language, sexual jokes, and religious mockery makes it unsuitable for young readers. But other than that it is a great book for most readers.

Warning:
Attempted understanding of this book may cause serious damage to your mind. Cases of head explosions and mental shutdown have been noted.
Read with caution!!

Editorials:

Book Description

"DOUGLAS ADAMS IS A TERRIFIC SATIRIST."
--The Washington Post Book World
Facing annihilation at the hands of the warlike Vogons is a curious time to have a craving for tea. It could only happen to the cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his curious comrades in arms as they hurtle across space powered by pure improbability--and desperately in search of a place to eat.
Among Arthur's motley shipmates are Ford Prefect, a longtime friend and expert contributor to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the three-armed, two-headed ex-president of the galaxy; Tricia McMillan, a fellow Earth refugee who's gone native (her name is Trillian now); and Marvin, the moody android who suffers nothing and no one very gladly. Their destination? The ultimate hot spot for an evening of apocalyptic entertainment and fine dining, where the food (literally) speaks for itself.
Will they make it? The answer: hard to say. But bear in mind that the Hitchhiker's Guide deleted the term "Future Perfect" from its pages, since it was discovered not to be!
"What's such fun is how amusing the galaxy looks through Adams' sardonically silly eyes."
--Detroit Free Press

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