Revisiting: Submission by Michel Houellebecq
Original post February 4th, 2020
I've really adhered to the "review" template over the years, while in personal conversation I describe this blog as more of a reading journal than any serious attempt to review the books I read/hear. In the past year, I've become increasingly interested in self-editing this blog, first, reducing the total number of posts to something that could be quickly exported and/or printed if required and second, actually looking at the things I've written and trying to decide what value an individual post might contain. One thing I've noticed, besides a general level of terseness (necessary for a blog one would think?) is that everything just gets buried online and to combat that phenomenon, you need to resurface old posts.
Houellebecq is, I would say, a hugely UNpopular author, particularly after his Pandemic era fracas over a sex tape (?!?) he willingly made. He's also frequently cited as an inspiration for the alt-right or the "incel" movement, which seems ridiculous to me because those guys don't read literary fiction unless you'd call Ayn Rand literary fiction. I mean, I'm aware of plenty of critiques from folks who actually read literary fiction where they say, essentially, "Oh, Houellebecq is for trolls." I have not met any trolls- or read anything written by trolls, where they say, "Houellebecq is our guy!" It's different than say, Jordan Peterson, who actually does seem to have trolls for actual fans.
Original Post
Submission (2019)
by Michel Houellebecq
These days, when people ask me for a favorite author, more likely than not I say it's Michel Houellebecq, even though I'm still 50/50 on pronouncing his last name accurately (It is pronounced close to Wellbeck.) There is just something about Houellebecq and his contempt for humanity, and his repeated reliance on narrators who are succesful men who don't have children and suffer from a creeping sense of ennui, that rings my bell.
I actually bought a copy of Submission, his 2015 pan-European hit, in anticipation of reading his most recent book Serotonin (2019). Submission is his book about a world where the Muslim Brotherhood, in alliance with the Socialist party, win the French parliamentary elections and take power. When it was was published, Submission brought the usual level of controversy that Houellebecq evokes, entirely from the left, on the grounds that... well... really where do you start. The idea that the Muslim Brotherhood could win a French election? That the French Socialists would partner with the Muslim Brotherhood to maintain their relevance? That Houellebecq is a racist who hates Muslims, or perhaps that he is a nihilist who doesn't fear Muslim political strength enough. I was ready to have all those opinions, but I thought, all in all, Submission was even handed for a work of near-future speculative fiction.
Houellebecq has always tread close to misogyny in his fiction, and here he has common ground with his fictional would-be Muslim political class: Removing women from public life is the bedrock foundational principle for the politically savvy Muslim Brotherhood, and as the book progresses, Francois, the professor of literature who narrates Submission, is remarkably unsurprised to see the lack of resistance of French women to their removal from public life.
by Michel Houellebecq
These days, when people ask me for a favorite author, more likely than not I say it's Michel Houellebecq, even though I'm still 50/50 on pronouncing his last name accurately (It is pronounced close to Wellbeck.) There is just something about Houellebecq and his contempt for humanity, and his repeated reliance on narrators who are succesful men who don't have children and suffer from a creeping sense of ennui, that rings my bell.
I actually bought a copy of Submission, his 2015 pan-European hit, in anticipation of reading his most recent book Serotonin (2019). Submission is his book about a world where the Muslim Brotherhood, in alliance with the Socialist party, win the French parliamentary elections and take power. When it was was published, Submission brought the usual level of controversy that Houellebecq evokes, entirely from the left, on the grounds that... well... really where do you start. The idea that the Muslim Brotherhood could win a French election? That the French Socialists would partner with the Muslim Brotherhood to maintain their relevance? That Houellebecq is a racist who hates Muslims, or perhaps that he is a nihilist who doesn't fear Muslim political strength enough. I was ready to have all those opinions, but I thought, all in all, Submission was even handed for a work of near-future speculative fiction.
Houellebecq has always tread close to misogyny in his fiction, and here he has common ground with his fictional would-be Muslim political class: Removing women from public life is the bedrock foundational principle for the politically savvy Muslim Brotherhood, and as the book progresses, Francois, the professor of literature who narrates Submission, is remarkably unsurprised to see the lack of resistance of French women to their removal from public life.
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