hassim

Prior to reading this book I'd heard a lot about how shocking it was, and so now I'm a little concerned that I'm far more depraved than I ever thought before as I didn't really see what was so controversial. Sure, the content is a tad salty and the world view within is bleak to say the least, but nothing felt truly offensive (there were a few moments of provocation, but mostly in a pantomime of offense giving). This is the story of modern humanity as told through two very different half-brothers, Michel and Bruno, and mostly through their sex lives (or lack of); Michel is an isolated scientist with no libido whatsoever, while Bruno has one in spades yet it's largely frustrated. Unable to form real, lasting human relationships and not really wanting to, Michel pursues knowledge while Bruno dedicates himself to the pursuit of sexual pleasures. This, then, sets the stage for Houllebecq to give us his nihilistic world view - since the decline of religion as the glue of society and with the rise of materialism, the pursuit of individual freedoms and pleasures has actually made us less free and less satisfied, replacing bonds of love with meaningless sex and leading to the conclusion that humanity is fucked. So it's quite apt that at the very end the novel takes a surprising lurch into sci-fi territory. Entertaining, blackly funny and thought provoking but, like a quick fumble in the back of a car, nowhere near as earth shattering as I'd hoped.

2022-10-29 03:40