Reading matters

'Whatever' by Michel Houellebecq

Fiction - paperback; Serpent's Tail; 155 pages; 1999. (Translated from the French by Paul Hammond.)

I bought this book on the strength of Hoeullebecq's (pronounced Wellbeck) very brilliant Atomised. Unfortunately, it did not live up to expectations.

I'm not even sure what this book was about. The narrator, a sad, depressed 30-year-old computer nerd, spent most of his time in an agitated state of boredom. I had no sympathy for him at all. If Houellebecq was trying to make some kind of statement about modern day life, it was either too subtle for me to grasp or too profound for me to identify. His dejected cast of characters, drifting through life with no sense of purpose, were so emotionally detached from everything around them that I found myself just as emotionally detached reading about their exploits.

Despite this, the book does offer small glimmers of Houellebecq's genius which comes to the fore in his following novel, Atomised.

'Atomised' by Michel Houellebecq

Fiction - paperback; Vintage; 379 pages; 2001. (Translated from the French by Frank Wynne.)

I don't even know where to begin this review. It's no exaggeration to say this book is profound; it stayed with me long after I'd finished the last page. It's not a normal novel by any stretch of the imagination, encompassing as it does, a sociopolitical history of the 20th century. Atomised touches on many big themes, including the soullessness of existence and how the human condition — our individuality — is the root of much unhappiness.

Through the story of two half brothers, growing up apart but in similar social conditions, Houellebecq is able to explore the nature/nurture paradigm. His characters, one an unfeeling academic and the other a sex-obsessed wanderer, are both emotionally distant and struggling to make sense of their lives. In many ways this search mirrors the shallowness of today's society.

I found Atomised to be an incredible, thought-provoking and highly intelligent read. While the subject matter is deep, intense and thick with ideas, the book is a surprisingly genuine page turner. I will be recommending this to everyone I meet; it's one of those rare books that is both enriching and entertaining.