A nameless computer engineer in his thirties, working in Paris for an IT services firm, finds that his life has no sexual or emotional connection. He is sent to the provinces with a colleague, Raphael Tisserand, a man who also fails with women, to train clients in new software. As they travel, the narrator reflects on the market logic of sexual and economic competition, which he calls the extension of the domain of struggle, and spirals into depression. Houellebecq's first novel is cold and darkly comic.
Readers who like bleak satire of modern society, alienation, and loneliness will find the roots of his later novels. It is a short, sharp read, but its misanthropy is not for everyone.
Deep, inward-looking, contemplative, open-ended and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Wisdom Collector. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2005
- Publisher
- J'ai Lu
- Language
- FR
