In terms of Houellebecq, it's hard to say if he really believes in our replacement by a superior series of beings. But he does explore the concept more in The Possibility of an Island, an underrated novel in my view. In any case, I don't think he saw that future as an ideal one to resolve the basic "problem" of humanity.
In terms of Houellebecq, it's hard to say if he really believes in our replacement by a superior series of beings. But he does explore the concept more in The Possibility of an Island, an underrated novel in my view. In any case, I don't think he saw that future as an ideal one to resolve the basic "problem" of humanity.
As for the novel, I very much agree with the the fact that a lot of fiction nowadays is literature for its own sake. I guess one can call it a series of fabrications, though given that Houellebecq wrote about clones in a fantastical but completely believable manner I think it would be a mistake to interpret Houellebecq's commentary as calling for a return to realism. I view the problem as less about the form, however, and more about the author. A bunch of creative writing automatons who don't live the lives writers did in the past - often they are taught in academia to be anti-writer's mythos, and then they wonder why no one calls them the next Hemingway after living their life behind a suit and tie or beneath yet another fedora. In our quest to industrialize the entirety of human life, we have attempted to do the same with literature. And just as factories churned out cheaper and undistinct commodities, so too does the industrialization of literature do the same with its authors. If somehow a return of great authors could be managed - or just happens - through a literary deindustrialization, I think problems of this sort would be resolved in their hands by the things they write. Ideally, of course, postmodernism has to end. But according to the academics American literature is in a post-postmodern stage. So we'll see. Labatut, in any case, looks like a thought-provoking writer. I'll add him to my list.
Yes, the thing about Houellebecq is that he's so interested in making mischief that you never really know what he actually believes. I really liked Possibility of an Island as well. I think it makes a very nice pair with Atomized - this agreement that the sexual revolution was the last spasm of homo sapiens as a biological species and that the future has to do with mitosis, cellular reproduction, etc, with, basically, the scientific taming of the sex drive.
I don't take this very seriously as sociological analysis - I don't think Houellebecq is actually advocating for it - but in the way of great fiction it may be prophetic about where the society is headed.
Great reviews!
In terms of Houellebecq, it's hard to say if he really believes in our replacement by a superior series of beings. But he does explore the concept more in The Possibility of an Island, an underrated novel in my view. In any case, I don't think he saw that future as an ideal one to resolve the basic "problem" of humanity.
As for the novel, I very much agree with the the fact that a lot of fiction nowadays is literature for its own sake. I guess one can call it a series of fabrications, though given that Houellebecq wrote about clones in a fantastical but completely believable manner I think it would be a mistake to interpret Houellebecq's commentary as calling for a return to realism. I view the problem as less about the form, however, and more about the author. A bunch of creative writing automatons who don't live the lives writers did in the past - often they are taught in academia to be anti-writer's mythos, and then they wonder why no one calls them the next Hemingway after living their life behind a suit and tie or beneath yet another fedora. In our quest to industrialize the entirety of human life, we have attempted to do the same with literature. And just as factories churned out cheaper and undistinct commodities, so too does the industrialization of literature do the same with its authors. If somehow a return of great authors could be managed - or just happens - through a literary deindustrialization, I think problems of this sort would be resolved in their hands by the things they write. Ideally, of course, postmodernism has to end. But according to the academics American literature is in a post-postmodern stage. So we'll see. Labatut, in any case, looks like a thought-provoking writer. I'll add him to my list.
Yes, the thing about Houellebecq is that he's so interested in making mischief that you never really know what he actually believes. I really liked Possibility of an Island as well. I think it makes a very nice pair with Atomized - this agreement that the sexual revolution was the last spasm of homo sapiens as a biological species and that the future has to do with mitosis, cellular reproduction, etc, with, basically, the scientific taming of the sex drive.
I don't take this very seriously as sociological analysis - I don't think Houellebecq is actually advocating for it - but in the way of great fiction it may be prophetic about where the society is headed.