One of the walks in my book explores Knightsbridge: ground zero for the reality of total opulence overwhelm. It traces the destructive path of a spaceship with a giant silver robot in it crashing and destroying this area of London.
Adams’ book So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish (So Long) calls out and crushes many opulent places: The Park Tower Hotel (previously a Sheraton). Harvey Nichols. Harrods. Three places devoted to sucking as many pieces of small green paper as possible out of the pockets of ape-descended lifeforms who visit them.
Adams knew poverty, great wealth, and a series of financial fortunes and misfortunes. His books have monetary themes that could have been preachy and on-the-nose if they weren’t so hilarious. Money, getting paid for work done, and learning how to be at peace with achieving wealth, are sources of conflict and humor in the books that have resonated with me since I was a blue-collar kid in a wesekh-collar school.
I interpret the destruction of these total opulence overwhelm places as Adams underscoring how wealth and consumerism are examples that require the qualifier “mostly” in Adams’ later Mostly Harmless book title. The physical area of Knightsbridge was also a conflicted geography for Adams. He was “locked up” at The Berkeley for two weeks straight to write So Long. The obliteration of this prime real estate was Adams’ opportunity to fictionally demolish locations he associated with being enslaved to financial needs and forced to face the humiliation of not being able to get the book written on his own.
My Tip to Control the Overwhelm
After spending a little over an hour inside Harrods on my latest trip to London, I found a great article about how to actually enjoy it next time. I agree with the Londonist article and add my own caution: Harrods can be very difficult to escape from. I was simultaneously dazzled and disoriented in the enormous, sensory-drenching spaces.
There’s something ironic about getting lost and feeling helplessly trapped in a department store synonymous with opulence. So if you go, leave yourself plenty of time to escape. Almost being late for your high tea appointment because you can’t find an exit from Harrods gift shop may be the quintessential privileged problem, but the reality is that it is all too easy to cross the line from fun to overwhelm and ruin your otherwise nice time.
What do you think?