The second book in the Trilogy of Four Parts, The Restaurant at the End of the
Universe continues to chronicle the intergalactic
journeys of the only two surviving Earthlings – long suffering straight-man Arthur Dent and free-spirited Tricia McMillan (Trillian, for short). Travelling through the galaxy has worked them up quite an appetite, and with the help of Galactic President Zaphod Beeblebrox, they pay a visit to a highly unlikely (in fact impossible) bistro that has the dubious distinction of constantly bearing witness to the destruction of the
universe for the viewing pleasure of its patrons.
The Restaurant picks up where The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy leaves off and continues to establish the stories of both Arthur Dent, who bumbles through the increasingly
confusing universe, and Zaphod Beeblebrox, who is mired in a diabolical plot involving his role as figurehead President of the Galaxy. They travel in the ship Heart of Gold, which cruises instantly across space and is powered by the sheer improbability of its existence.
A hilarious chronicle of the ridiculous nature of the entire universe that has stood the test of time and exists in several forms of media (radio, TV, books and now a major motion picture), the saga of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy takes Arthur Dent on time-bending journey to prehistoric Earth, where he discovers not only that humans evolved from a race of salesmen, security guards, and telephone booth sanitizers, but that the meaning of life isn’t anything close to what everyone expected it would be.
Douglas Adams is the original master of the comedy/science fiction genre. Each book in the series is as well written as the next, and the plot is both confusing and enlightening. Readers would be best advised to start the series with the first book, as this is the only way that the saga will make anything close to sense. That is an integral part of its charm; the series is both an absurdist philosophical masterpiece and constantly funny.