Maybe it’s that I am too young to understand his work, maybe I haven’t read enough French literature, maybe I haven’t read him enough, or maybe it’s that I don’t agree with him politically (I’m a leftist) but I just don’t get him. He is provocative and that has been working for him. I thought Submission was…eh? (also kind of islamophobic). Though maybe I didn’t like that one because I don’t live in France and I don’t know the situation there. I tried Elementary Particles, I thought a part of it was really strange. I feel like he tries to be Céline but fails.
So please, if there’s anyone who “gets” Houellebecq, could you explain to me the appeal of his work? Thank you!
I’ve only read “Platform,” and I read it when it first came out. It is misogynistic and Islamophobic. It was considered “edgy” when it first came out. It was also very soon after 9/11, and Islamophobia was rampant, that definitely doesn’t justify it, but Islamophobia was conflated with patriotism at the time. I remember thinking the book was over rated and wondering if there was something lost in the translation (I read it in English as I am an American.)