Re-read 2022
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What a brilliant, hilarious piece of literature! I'm glad I tried it out. Adams presents profound philosophical thoughts dressed in a clown's suit and makeup, and while It laughs and juggles multiple ideas, you find yourself both disturbed and entertained. And his explanations! I have never experienced existential dread...until now. He did it.

I love these characters too. He leads the reader into mysteries that continue to unravel. We find the ruler of the universe in this one, when Ford and Arthur shoot into the past, but the ruler is not your traditional ruler. He is, to be blunt...portrayed as an idiot. Of course, Adams didn't believe in God. I don't mind at all. Literature provides grounds for all people of all beliefs to intermingle (although my honesty disclaimer: I would prefer every person I know to be a Christian as I am. I love either way. In fact, if I didn't desire that, I would not in fact love, so please find no offense).

I see now why the first in the series stands in the top ten lists of best sci-fi books ever.

Okay so I finished this book in one sitting.

I don't think I enjoyed it as much as HGTTG, but it was very different. It didn't feel as loopy, with far less tangents.

The structure this had compared with HGTTG was both a grace and a curse. The beauty of the first entry was it's inability to track, it was chaos in all the right ways and felt like a fever-dream.

The Restaurant at the end of the Universe did have a lot of that same aimlessness, seeing us drift through space with our eclectic rag-tag group. But it lost a bit of the arbitrary mundanity that drew me in with Guide.

One thing Douglas Adams does so well is his ability to mock the everyday and make things that are so ordinary to us, absolutely ridiculous. Too many shoeshops on the highstreet? That's a world-ending event. Why? Who knows, it just is.

I did still enjoy it, and I like Adams' easy, laid back writing style that feels more conversational, so will be back for more.

Rating: 3.4/5.0

پایان بازخوانی سوم.
فوق‌العاده‌ست

Captain Jeltz our old not so good friend ( a callous butcher) from the previous book, is after the stolen spaceship with the unlikely name,"Heart of Gold" again! On board are Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Trillian and the ex -President of the Galaxy the thief, Zaphod Beeblebrox ( nobody cares about Marvin the annoying robot). The unsmiling captain likes killing, that's what he does best. The fugitive ship is just about to be no more, with the help of the cruel Vogan ( a bad poet too), and his deadly spacecraft's weapons...The Heart of Gold's computer is too busy making the perfect cup of tea, to defend the vessel.Thanks to the thirsty Mr.Dent, a man must have his beverage! The only bright side is that the Englishman gets the best tea, he's ever had...With the crew having only a few moments to live, the great- grandfather of Zaphod's is someways conjured up by Beeblebrox... He can't explain it either. Great -grandpa isn't very happy, observing the stupidity of his great -grandson. Four generations and what a blockhead, it has produced. And an ill timed lecture on his relative's shameful habits, complicates things. But blood is blood and with the desperate, nervous encouragement of the rest of the gang, he sends them in their merry, separate ways. Marvin and the former president, vanishing from the bridge. And the craft travels many light years away, from the rather dangerous somewhat bleak situation. Zaphod materializes on distant Ursa Minor Beta, a planet where it's always a sunny afternoon, along also his not so fun but gloomy robot companion Marvin, and "his" constant bad moods. Arriving in a bar he's amazed, speechless, shocked still the gentleman is no stranger to such an environment and soon feels right at home (after a couple of good drinks). And on this world is the wonderful headquarters of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Mr.Beeblebrox has an overpowering mysterious urge to see (he doesn't know why?), Mr.Zarniwoop the editor. Yet there are problems, they're always some, the sweet talking elevator won't take them to the 15th floor. Even asks if they wouldn't prefer going in the opposite direction, down. Strange behavior for this machine, some kind of premonition ? The reason becomes apparent soon after an attack from the galaxy's forces, not happy with our former leader's actions. Despite the gallant efforts of Marvin's, they take the whole huge building and transports it to the worst place in the Milky Way, the Frogstar planet. What a dump! A voice tells him to come on down from the 15th floor...He does, very slowly and enters a structure on the dreary surface, will that kill him? Maybe or maybe not... He's hungry, slightly tired and would prefer to be in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, (Milliways) where they see the end of the universe show ever night ( with a celebrity host ). Reasonable prices too, a great view of the entertainment if you can get a good table and join his friends for a few libations....The only heaven, which our not quite perfect hero knows.

Fun chaos
The events are again whimsical, the scenes are fun and contain nice and influential ideas, like the restaurant at the end of the universe scene which has been taken over in the first Doctor Who of the new series (where people watch from a cruiseship the end of the Earth). But also induced death to evade taxes, rock concerts which upheave entire continents, the ruler of the universe being a philospher who thinks the universe does not actually exists outside his mind and finally humanity descending from the 1/3 of the population of another planet, exiled beacause their jobs did not add any value, spice up the story.

The plot of the book in itself I can hardly retell because of timetravel now hussled into the already existing improbability field mix,but still an enjoyable and genuinely fun read

به به چه کتابی. جلد دوم کتاب راهنمای کهکشان برای اتواستاپ زن ها از اولی خیلی بهتر بود . طنزش خیلی قوی تر شد و واقعا نمیشه کتاب رو روی زمین گذاشت.
عاشقش شخصیت ماروین شدم خیلی خوبه. امیدوارم جلد سوم هم همینقدر خفن پیش بره.

باید اعتراف کنم از اینکه به حرف دوستان گوش کردم و بعد از خواندن جلد اول از مجموعه‌ی راهنمای کهکشان برای اتواستاپ‌زن‌ها ناامید نشدم و به سراغ ج��د دوم رفتم راضیم.
جلد دوم پیشرفتی نسبی نسبت به جلد اول کرده است و امیدوارم این پیشرفت در جلدهای بعدی هم ادامه داشته باشد.
به خصوص با وجود ایراداتی که بر ترجمه‌ی جلد اول نوشتم، تصمیم گرفتم از این جلد، به سراغ زبان اصلی بروم و از این تصمیم هم به شدت راضیم، هم به خاطر ضعف‌های ترجمه‌ی جلد اول، و هم اینکه همانطور که گفتم ترجمه‌ی شوخی‌ها، به خصوص شوخی‌هایی که در سطح زبان رخ می‌دهند، معمولاً کار دشوار و چالش‌برانگیزی است. به شخصه با ترجمه‌ی جلد اول ارتباط خوبی برقرار نکردم. برعکس، به نظرم زبان اصلی کتاب نثر جالبی دارد.
به هرحال، خلاقیت‌های عجیب و غریب جناب داگلاس آدامز در این جلد نه تنها تمامی ندارد بلکه پیشرفت قابل توجهی هم کرده است. هرگاه خواننده حس می‌کند داستان نمی‌تواند از این عجیب و غریب‌تر شود، نویسنده ایده‌ی جدیدی رو می‌کند و باز هم خواننده را غافلگیر می‌کند. ایده‌‌هایی مثل «رستوران آخر جهان» یا «مردی که بر جهان حکومت می‌کند»، دو مورد از ایده‌های بسیار خلاقانه و عجیب و غریب داگلاس آدامز در این جلد هستند که نمی‌دانم چطور به مغزش خطور کرده‌اند!
در مورد جلد اول هم گفتم، شوخ طبیعیِ بریتانیایی به نظرم به ندرت آنقدر خنده‌دار است که خواننده قهقهه بزند، اما ظرافت و زیرکی خاصی در شوخی‌ها دیده می‌شود که خواننده از آن لذت می‌برد. در واقع داگلاس آدامز از همان اولین جمله‌های جلد دوم، سرِ شوخی را باز می‌کند:
n  

In the beginning the Universe was created.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.
Many races believe that it was created by some sort of god, though the Jatravartid people of Viltvode VI believe that the entire universe was in fact sneezed out of the nose of a being called the Great Green Arkleseizure.

n
با وجود پیشرفتِ نسبیِ جلد دوم، هنوز داستان به استانداردهای شخصی من نرسیده تا بتوانم به آن پنج ستاره بدهم، با این حال به نظرم روند کلی داستان در این جلد بیشتر مشخص شده و سطح تعلیق و هیجان هم کمی نسبت به جلد قبل بالاتر رفته است. امیدوارم این روند رو به پیشرفت در جلدهای بعدی هم ادامه‌دار باشد. (و لطفا نقش ماروین به عنوان ربات افسرده در جلدهای بعدی پررنگ‌تر باشد! شخصیت مورد علاقه‌ی من در این کتاب است!)
با همه چیز شوخی!
در مورد جلد اول هم گفتم، مجموعه‌ی راهنمای کهکشان،شاید درون‌مایه و هدف نهاییِ خاصی جز سرگرم کردن مخاطبش نداشته باشد، و در این کار موفق هم هست.
با این حال بعد از خواندن جلد دوم، نکته‌ای توجهم را جلب کرده: در جهان داگلاس آدامز، هیچ چیز آنقدر جدی و مهم نیست که نشود با آن شوخی کرد. خواه پرسش‌های مهم زندگی انسان باشد:
معنای زندگی چیست؟
آیا آفرینش حقیقت دارد؟
آیا جهان بی‌انتهاست؟
و خواه اتفاقات مهم در خودِ داستان راهنمای کهکشان باشد:
کره‌ی زمین نابود می‌شود.
جنگ میان‌ستاره‌ای بین شخصیت‌های اصلی در جریان است.
گرداب پرسپکتیو کامل، پهنای جهان را نشان می‌دهد


داگلاس آدامز همیشه برای بحرانی‌ترین لحظاتِ داستان و اساسی ترین پرسش‌های خواننده، مسخره‌ترین و عجیب‌ترین جواب‌ها را در آستین دارد و احتمالاً هرچقدر آن لحظه حساس‌تر و آن سؤال مهمتر و بنیادی‌تر باشد، جواب داگلاس آدامز عجیب‌تر و خنده‌دارتر است. این یکی از فاکتورهایی است که باعث شگفتی و لذت خواننده می‌شود:
معنای زندگی و جهان و همه‌چیز چیست؟ ۴۲!
چرا کل کره‌ی زمین و موجوادتش نابود می‌شوند؟ برای احداث بزرگراه فضایی!
چرا وسط جنگ میان‌ستاره‌ای، سفینه‌ی شخصیت‌های اصلیِ داستان از کار می‌افتد؟ چون کامپیوترهای سفینه مشغول یافتن طرز تهیه‌ی چای هستند!
انگیزه‌ی مخترع گرداب پرسپکتیو کامل از ساخت آن چه بود؟ عصبانی کردن زنش!
علت انقراض مردم سیاره‌ی «فراگستار بی» چه بود؟ افزایش کفش‌فروشی‌ها!
بزرگترین چالشی که سفر در زمان ایجاد می‌کند چیست؟ مشکل گرامر!
بزرگترین تفریح ملت در پایان دنیا چه می‌تواند باشد؟ خوردن غذای گرانبهایشان در رستوران آخر دنیا و لذت بردن از تماشای منظره‌ی نابودی دنیا!
آیا عبارت «خدا می‌داند» از زبان فرمانروای جهان، نشانه‌ی باور دینی اوست؟ نه! فرمانروای جهان اسم گربه‌اش را گذاشته: خدا! (the Lord) به همین خاطر وقتی می‌گوید خدا می‌داند(the Lord knows)، منظورش این است که گربه‌اش می‌داند!

شاید این مهمترین درون‌مایه و پیام کتاب در تمام مجموعه باشد: با همه‌چیز می‌شود شوخی کرد، هیچ‌چیز آنقدرها جدی نیست! سخت نگیرید!

I was truly enjoying The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (you can read my review here ) when my sister gave me The Restaurant at the End of the Universe as a birthday present. Then I faced the weirdest conundrum (quite ad hoc for the weirdest book I've erver read): I didn't wanted the book to be over and at the same time I just wanted to finish the book so I could start reading the sequel. Well, the unavoidable happened, and the only reason I didn't undergo an OMG-I-can't-believe-this-is-over crisis was that I started reading The Restaurant at the End of the Universe as soon I as was done with the first book.

There was still a crisis I didn't know if I could avoid, and that was the What-the-hell-this-is-not-as-good-as-it-was-supposed-to-be crisis. Fortunately, that crisis never came. This book is as good as its predecessor. I have no idea of what happened in the first half and don't know how to feel about that, then I remembered that I have no idea of what happened in the entire first book either so I got over it. To be honest, for moments I felt the first half was somehow slow, yet the humor and the randomness are great. I even believe this one is funnier, or maybe it's just me kind of starting to understand. Idk.

I cannot say I was disappointed. Now I just want to start reading Life, the Universe and Everything as soon as it arrives.

I am not a philosopher
Nor a super computer
My skull houses the brain
Of a Goodreads reviewer
Who reads a great many books
Some better than others
And praises in verses
Their fathers and mothers
But would you find me presumptuous
If I told you I knew
The question to the answer
That is forty-two?
Though the Ultimate Answer
Does not have a question
There’s no need to panic
I’ve made my inspection
And pondering deeply
As deep as Deep Thought
After forty-two minutes
Zero questions I’ve got
You see I knew what it was
But disaster of disasters
Last night I’d one too many
Pan Galactic Gargle blasters

This series is frigging hilarious. Unfortunately, that's the only thing this book has going on. The story was a bit all over the place.

There was also a lack of my favourite character, Marvin.

Not sure if I'll continue with this series as yet. The first book THGTTG is a must read though.

Reread. First read it in 2020. Don't enjoy the series quite as much since then but still an interesting series
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Very entertaining, quirky and odd but so much fun. Didn't enjoy this as much as the first one but it was still a great short read.

Oh, how I do love Douglas Adams.


I find something really profound in the way Douglas Adams presents life, even through an otherwise nonsensical and just purely humorous book. When I look past the surface, some of life's most thought-provoking themes lie so clearly woven amidst his stories.

Each encounter, each adventure, each beloved character, each twist, each turn; these are all humorous, superbly written, and wonderful, but what I believe Adams does better than his other counter-parts is lace it all with such an intelligent irony to the point that, when you take the time to look, you see more than a Sci-Fi best-seller, you see a truly substantial commentary on the world around us.