Life, the Universe and Everything

Summary

Life, the Universe and Everything is the third book in Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, continuing the comedic and absurd adventures of Arthur Dent and his friends across the cosmos. In this installment, the stakes are higher, as the group faces a potential galactic war that could spell doom for the entire universe. Adams combines humor, satire, and philosophical musings in a tale that explores deep philosophical questions about life, purpose, and the mysteries of existence.

The books title refers to the question humans asked a supercomputer they had built: What is the purpose of life, the universe and everything? The computer simply replied 42, and told them that it can't explain the question in such a way that the answer would start to make sense. That this is a task beyond the computers comprehension and abilities and that they have to build an even bigger computer to explain the question that they asked.

In this book of the series, Arthur Dent escapes from pre-historic Earth together with his alien friend Ford Prefect. They encounter the Krikkit people, a race of xenophobic aliens who once waged a brutal war against the entire universe. The Krikkitans' desire to destroy all life stems from their inability to tolerate differences and coexist with other species. When they found out that there where other stars out there, the only thought they had was, let's annihilate all of them. Fortunately for the universe, they lost the war, and became locked behind a barrier that keeps them bound in space and time. But their agents of chaos are trying to lift the lock and free the Krikkitans once again. Funnily enough the shape of the key to the lock, is shaped exactly like the objects necessary to play the human game of cricket.

In this part of the series, Arthur Dent also learns how to fly. Flying is only possible when in the moment of falling you become so distracted by something else that you completely forget that you were falling. If you do this successfully, gravity stops paying attention to you, making you become weightless, until the point where you realize that you shouldn't be flying and think "Ahhh wtf is happening? How is it possible that I am flying and not falling..." at which point gravity kicks back in and you fall like anybody else would.

Life, the Universe and Everything like Douglas Adams' other books from the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series, explores the randomness and absurdity of existence. Characters face bizarre challenges and (the most) improbable situations. Everything underscores the unpredictable and weird nature of life. Yet the characters can become happy and content within their bizarre journeys. They find ways of dealing with the unknown and the chaos of it all. The book is full with the most bizarre and creative ideas–here are a few quotes to underline this point:

Arthur felt happy. He was terribly pleased that the day was for once working out so much according to plan. Only twenty minutes ago he had decided he would go mad, and now here he was already chasing a Chesterfield sofa across the fields of prehistoric Earth.

No one really knows what mattresses are meant to gain from their lives either. They are large, friendly, pocket-sprung creatures that live quiet private lives in the marshes of Sqornshellous Zeta. Many of them get caught, slaughtered, dried out, shipped out and slept on. None of them seems to mind this.

The knack of flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.

Having solved all the major mathematical, physical, chemical, biological, sociological, philosophical, etymological, meteorological and psychological problems of the Universe except for his own, three times over, [Marvin] was severely stuck for something to do, and had taken up composing short dolorous ditties of no tone, or indeed tune. The latest one was a lullaby. Marvin droned, Now the world has gone to bed, Darkness won't engulf my head, I can see in infrared, How I hate the night. He paused to gather the artistic and emotional strength to tackle the next verse. Now I lay me down to sleep, Try to count electric sheep, Sweet dream wishes you can keep, How I hate the night.

In the beginning, the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.

Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is.

Key Takeaways

• Embrace Absurdity: Life is inherently unpredictable and often really, really absurd. By accepting this, individuals can better navigate their own lives and find humor and resilience in the fray of chaos that is life.
• Existential Questions Without Clear Answers: While we may seek meaning and purpose, they may never find concrete answers, and even if we did, we wouldn't understand them. Instead, there is value in embracing curiosity and exploring the mysteries of existence.

The book before this one is The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. The next book in the series is So Long and Thanks for All The Fish.