Ok, so after seeing so many Dopers speak glowingly about this little story, I decided to read it. I was quite amused, laughed out loud a few times and thought it worthwhile enough that I am about to go check out The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. My question(s) though, is why this book is regarded as highly insightful/philisophical? From what I can gather, this Adams’ fellow was an animal rights activist (evident by his “deforestation” method of destroying Earth, claiming chimps and mice were doing the experiments on us etc.) and that he had some pretty strong opinons about our cultural values/capitalism and so on. Now, what I don’t get is exactly what his opinion of those traits are. Is his view typical of Brits or is the fact that he is British not a factor at all? Is he taking jabs at Americans or Earthlings in general? Am I too young (Im 23) or naive or not cynical enough or just plain too lazy to decipher his metaphors to find the answers to these questions?
I did put a lot of thought into the way he dealt with the age old question of “What is the meaning of life” and I concluded that he believes the search for the answer is not as important as the search for the motivation for such a question. Sort of the “it is the journey, not the destination” that counts philosophy. Anyone else get this from Adams?
So please, any Dopers who feel they are intimately in tune with the underpinnings and agendas that make up this great story, share your insights with me.
As the great philosopher once said, “It’s a joke, son.”
Adams did a lot of things solely for laughs. The idea that the mice are performing experiments isn’t animal rights; it’s a venerable type of gag known as “The Old Switcheroo.” It’s not a metaphor for anything, and it’s no more philosophical than “The Philosopher’s Song” in Monty Python.
Adams’s philosophical underpinning is simple: make it funny. Trying to read anything more is an exercise in futility and narcissism.
It’s just supposed to be funny – it’s not deep.
Some of us feel that Adams took a great deal from Robert Sheckley’s book Dimension of Miracles to make THHGTTG – it, too, features an earthman who has been whisked off the planet and tries to find his way among the inghabited worlds, being menaced, accompanied by weird folks who are only marginally concerned with his welfare, and stumbling across a world builder in the process.
As the others have said: Douglas Adams’s fiction books aren’t meant to be philosphical or political statements. They’re just absurdist humor, and a great example thereof.
Tree Boy: if you like the novel, you should the old interactive fiction game from Infocom. Sorry, I can’t link to a site where it’s avilalable, that could be considered promoting a violation of copyright.
They really are particularly clever hyper intelligent pan dimensional beings.
There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizzarre and inexplicable.
There is another which states that his has already happened.
I have loved all of Adams’ novels, Hitchhiker’s Guide and the Dirk Gently novels and so on.
If you haven’t yet, read The Salmon of Doubt. It was published mid last year, about a year after he passed away. It is well worth the read! It is not one book, but a compilation of stuff he had written over the years for magazines, interviews and stuff of that sort.
I re-read the Hitchhiker’s series after Adams died, and loved it yet again. I’ve recommended it to many friends.
Perhaps my favorite story of reading it happened to one such friend… she was playing bassoon in an orchestra practice session, and reading in the long pauses between her parts. At one point, she forgot to control her laughter and burst out laughing in the middle of the performance. Can’t do much better than that.
And Wearia, thank you for finding that link! I didn’t know the old Infocom game was available online!
This is for the most part true, but Salmon of a Doubt shows that Douglas Adams was quite concerned about the environment and animal rights (though, I feel, in a more environmental way rather than a “animals are people too!” way).
Adams has written at least one serious book, Last Chance to See, which is a collection of writings about endangered species and such. It’s also very funny in places. Highly reccomended.
The part about man using the Babel Fish to disprove God is probably based somewhat on DNA’s own beliefs and experiences–he was pretty outspoken about being an atheist. TSOD has an interview from an atheist magazine with him republished in it.
