Michel Houellebecq (French: [miʃɛl wɛlbɛk]; born Michel Thomas; 26 February 1956) is a French author, filmmaker, and poet.
His first book was a biographical essay on the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. Houellebecq published his first novel, Whatever, in 1994. His next novel, Atomised, published in 1998, brought him international fame as well as controversy. Platform followed in 2001. He published several books of poems, including The Art of Struggle (Le sens du combat) in 1996. After a publicity tour for Platform led to his being taken to court for inciting racial hatred, he moved to Ireland for several years. He currently resides in France, where he has been described as "France’s biggest literary export and, some say, greatest living writer." In 2010 he published La Carte et le Territoire (published the same year in English as The Map and the Territory) which won the prestigious Prix Goncourt; and, in 2015, Submission.
En kontroversiel fortælling om de to halvbrødre Michel og Brunos livsbaner og den vestlige verdens forfatning op mod årtusindeskiftet.
Michel er en strengt deterministisk, følelseshæmmet forsker i biologi, som kompenserer for sin dalende seksuelle interesse ved at hellige sig sit arbejde, sit supermarked og sine nervepiller - indtil et sabbatår bringer ham på sporet af en ny menneskerace.
Bruno er en falleret gymnasielærer på evig jagt efter nye seksuelle udskejelser. På en campingplads blandt new age-inspirerede gamle 68'ere møder han en aften en fremmed, nøgen kvinde, som lader ham ane muligheden for et lykkeligt liv med garanteret seksuel tilfredsstillelse hver dag.
Pressen skriver:
»En hæmnings- og hensynsløs dissektion af vores vestlige intimsfæres udvikling gennem det sidste halve århundrede ... ætsende ironisk, ustyrlig morsomt«
– Weekendavisen
»Et europæisk mesterværk«
– Information
»Uhyggelig, oprivende, væsentlig og helt uomgængelig«
– Jyllands-Posten
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