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.Atomised

by: Michel Houellebecq

March 01, 2001
Theres not been a book like this in my lifetime. What is so wonderful about it is the way H shuns 'the literary' and goes straight for the jugular. His writing cuts to the core of what is wrong with our culture, but has the intelligence to never turn itself into a mission statement or credo. if people are perplexed then fine, so they should be, I've been mulling over this book for about 5 years. This is what books are for. Brilliant.
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.Platform

by: Michel Houellebecq, Frank Wynne (Translator)

September 04, 2003
Again much relevant comment is already available on Amazon and the leading reviews are reasonably pertinent. But I see nothing very much in Platform to enhance Houellebecq's "Great Writer" status. I fail to see where Anita Brookner - herself a fine and impeccable stylist- finds "brilliance". However, it is a much better book than Atomised (incidently the original title translates as Elementary Particles which makes much more sense of the actual content); Houellebecq is perhaps learning the writer's craft. He certainly followed my recommendation and developed his bent for comedy. In its way its quite a funny book. But that way is the way of darkness - it is a comedy in the same way as Dante's Inferno is a comedy! (Ok - I do know that its not really a legitimate ... Read More:
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.The Possibility of an Island

by: Michel Houellebecq

July 03, 2006
First things first, Michel Houellebecq is one of the most compelling writers about. He may be sexist, misogynistic , racist, Islamaphobic and probably tortures teddy-bears in his spare time but the power of the ideas flowing through his previous book sweep such labellings aside. Who cares about his politics his force of mind projects itself from the page so masterfully? Few other writers today can match him for ability or willingness to engage with the problems of 21st century life. You don't have to agree, just entertain the suggestions and it will lead you into dark places in your mind and questions you've tried to avoid answering.

Thus I was gutted when after the first 100-or-so pages of The Possibility Of An Island it became clear that he hadn't 'done ... Read More:
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.Whatever

by: Michel Houellebecq

January 14, 1999
One wonders about the relation between MH and his narrator in this novel, his first I believe. It is endearing in its lumpy mix of sweepingly aggressive disillusion and undisguised lostness, and alternation of insightful compassion and callousness vis-a-vis others.
But the translation is pretty abysmal, not just clumsy and unidiomatic but at times apparently just wrong: "...to forestall an eventual surprise attack" - isn't that "eventuel", meaning, roughly, "possible" (p.58)? Other times he uses words that exist in English but are not everyday as their French counterparts are, as in the "prolongation of the jetty that seals off the port" (p. 106).
This would be ok if the narrator were supposed to be someone who spoke his own language oddly or stiltedly, but I don't think that's the idea. ... Read More:
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.Vintage Satire: "Gulliver's Travels", "Atomised" (Vintage Classic Twins)

by: Jonathan Swift, Michel Houellebecq

August 02, 2007
One wonders about the relation between MH and his narrator in this novel, his first I believe. It is endearing in its lumpy mix of sweepingly aggressive disillusion and undisguised lostness, and alternation of insightful compassion and callousness vis-a-vis others.
But the translation is pretty abysmal, not just clumsy and unidiomatic but at times apparently just wrong: "...to forestall an eventual surprise attack" - isn't that "eventuel", meaning, roughly, "possible" (p.58)? Other times he uses words that exist in English but are not everyday as their French counterparts are, as in the "prolongation of the jetty that seals off the port" (p. 106).
This would be ok if the narrator were supposed to be someone who spoke his own language oddly or stiltedly, but I don't think that's the idea. ... Read More:
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.Lanzarote

by: Michel Houellebecq

June 03, 2004
How dare they call Lanzarote uncultural and hedonistic? It is not the island that is uncultural and hedonistic but the badly educated common tourists that travel there and remain in their small enclaves of english larger louts and retired, beer bellied, uncultured, not speaking a word of Spanish and loud British citizens.
I grew up in Lanzarote and excluding certain tourist destinations (Costa Teguise, Playa Blanca and Playa del Carmen) it is a stunning island with very friendly laid back people.
If people decide to stay for 7 nights in their villa surrounded by blackboards that tell us proudly that they serve English fried breakfasts at 2 euros (in 30 degree heat) then very well, but please don't judge a stunning volcanic island that has produced one of spains best designers/architects (Cesar Manrique), ... Read More:
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.Extension Du Domaine De La Lutte

by: Michel Houellebecq

September 02, 2005
This is Houellebecq's first novel, in which he, in his poignant yet unpolished style - he oftentimes reminded me of Bukowski and Brusselmans - rather darkly sketches what could happen in a world where people start seeing themselves and others as merchandise, economically and sexually. A young, depressed systems guy at a Parisian software company is sent out to do a series of trainings in provincial France. He is not happy to do it, and to his surprise, he is forced to go do it with an extremely ugly and sexually frustrated collegue. Failing miserably at trying to console one another (they wouldn't know how, so they just endure, silently screaming), outsiders in a world with which they are unable to communicate, the trip ends up to be a chain of misfortune, bitterness, loathing and ultimately utter depression.
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.H.P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life

by: Michel Houellebecq

July 13, 2006
My interest in and enjoyment of Houellebecq's novels led me to this volume. Not that I was entirely ignorant of Lovecraft beforehand - I read a lot of Stephen King (who provides an excellent introduction here) as a teenager, and subsequently a lot of Neil Gaiman, both of whom acknowledge him in different ways in their work.
Later still, three of my university friends revealed themselves to be fans of HPL's Cthulu Mythos. Mainly of the roleplaying games, it has to be said. One was into the books, too - but I'm afraid to say neither these or the games particularly grabbed me.
Even having read and hugely enjoyed Houellebecq's tribute to HPL, I can't see that changing. There's no accounting for taste, after all. What I fully accept is that HPL's work offers his adherents an escape hatch from real life that they are ... Read More:
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.The Possibility of an Island

by: Michel Houellebecq

November 01, 2005
First things first, Michel Houellebecq is one of the most compelling writers about. He may be sexist, misogynistic , racist, Islamaphobic and probably tortures teddy-bears in his spare time but the power of the ideas flowing through his previous book sweep such labellings aside. Who cares about his politics his force of mind projects itself from the page so masterfully? Few other writers today can match him for ability or willingness to engage with the problems of 21st century life. You don't have to agree, just entertain the suggestions and it will lead you into dark places in your mind and questions you've tried to avoid answering.

Thus I was gutted when after the first 100-or-so pages of The Possibility Of An Island it became clear that he hadn't 'done it again' he'd actually produced something of a damp ... Read More:
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.The Elementary Particles (Vintage International (Paperback))

by: Houellebecq Michel

December 01, 2003
Mr. Houellebecq is a skilled writer and his books raises interesting points about the future. However, the beliefs and experiences of two eccentrics may just be the the beliefs and experiences of two eccentrics. Vulgarity, cruelty and existential doubt are not new phenomena.

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