I was first introduced to this work by my brother (genius level) who was also baffled.
I read it twice and could not come up with any meaning for it.
Second place honors go to "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy. The first chapter was an interminable description of the characters and I could not get past it.
Character sketches are a time-honored tradition, but he beat it to death.
I LOVE anything by Douglas Adams.
Hey - I enjoyed Dirk's Agency!!! I'm still looking for one of those electric monks!