Michel Houellebecq, the "pop star of the single generation" and the l'enfant terrible of contemporary French letters, is the best guide to the mental landscape of the post-modern.
The landscape is troubled. Houellebecq's post-structural world is nihilistic, cruel and obnoxious. Technological change and globalization have devastated many of the old belief systems but offered little instead. All Houellebecq's characters are detached and alienated from the everyday hubbub of work and consumption. Alas, Houellebecq's world is an absurd sad place where humans struggle to find meaning for their lives.
Books reviewed:
Whatever (1994) /Paperback / 155 pages
Atomised (1998) / Paperback / 379 pages
Lanzarote (2000) / Paperback / 92 pages
Platform (2002) / Paperback / 320 pages
Possibilities of an Island (2005) / Paperback / 423 pages
