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End of the Universe RestaurantFood Critics Beware: Douglas Adams' Comic Hitchhiker's Guide SequelDouglas Adams continues his trend of oddly fitting titles for strange and whimsical stories. Buried throughout his silly prose are some poignant points.
Adams Strikes AgainIn The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Douglas Adams maintains the theme of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Though not as well known as its Hollywood blockbuster prequel, The Restaurant continues the story of Arthur Dent and Tricia McMillan, the last two humans in the universe, after the Earth was destroyed by the evil Vogons. The writing will have you laughing out loud, despite the rather disturbing nature of the story. Douglas Adams uses humor to soften the message that nothing really matters, and life plods on unheeding individual populations. The Purpose of EarthAccording to the Hitchhiker trilogy, the purpose of Planet Earth was to figure out the Ultimate Question of life, the universe, and everything, whose ultimate answer--calculated by a slightly less powerful computer than our home planet--is 42. A gang of psychologists are behind the destruction of Earth, because if the Ultimate Question were matched to the Ultimate Answer, their occupational value would vanish. Adams' heavy-handed criticism of human nature is shattered by his tongue-in-cheek wit. Nothing is SacredDouglas Adams has no boundaries as far as criticism is concerned. In a spurt of self-deprecating humor, Adams centers a good chunk of the plot of The Restaurant around an encyclopedia called, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which is described as rarely accurate and completely irreverent. The story is rife with grand theft…uh…spaceship and mocking references to the inefficacy of police and government. Zaphod Beeblebrox, former President of the Universe, is arrested/kidnapped by a team of creatures who uproot an entire office building to get at him. At one point, Adams describes a device that destroys souls by way of revealing the total perspective of the universe. The Vortex shows the victim just how tiny and insignificant he/she/it is. What Time is it?Time travel bounces around between the covers. The title restaurant is a pretentious bubble poised at the edge of time just before the end of the universe. It’s an absurd dining room hosting the wealthiest characters from across the known universe. Patrons inevitably get drunk and act foolish while a jaded host tries his hardest to be funny and original while introducing the end of the universe. Somehow, Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect find themselves in the midst of a doomed colony of worthless bureaucrats. They discover to their dismay that they’ve been bounced far back in time to a shocking location. The discovery leads to a critical revelation about human nature. And the Point Is…Douglas Adams spent considerable effort making The Restaurant at the End of the Universe seem as pointless as possible. However, there is undoubtedly a thick vein of stern social criticism running throughout. Adams expanded the scope of human society to include the entire universe and all its occupants. The effect is similar to looking at the surface of the skin under a microscope. Every tiny imperfection becomes grossly exaggerated and impossible to miss.
The copyright of the article End of the Universe Restaurant in Time Travel Fiction is owned by Paul Blumer. Permission to republish End of the Universe Restaurant in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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