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3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
dark
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
fast-paced
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Beta uprising novel
On the cover of the book it says, "funny, terrifying and nauseating". It is none of these things, but people for whom it is written would normally buy a book that is. The book is written for people who feel more cultured if someone occasionally reminds them that they have no life; it is written well. There are lots of good sentences like "The day was warm but a little sad, as Sundays often are in Paris, especially when one doesn't believe in God". Some thoughts, not really original, but urgent in their repetitiveness. On the whole, I couldn't really think of a reason why I should care for the protagonist, except that I have probably met him on a number of occasions, with different faces and names. Still, a rather far cry from the early Camus that Houellebecq must have read very carefully.
The most fun of the Houllebecq books. Published in translation as "Whatever" which is a terrible effort.
Laugh-out-loud funny. Vacillates from precise gut-punching roasts with remunerative passages of memories as a critique of capitalism.
Ironically, Whatever may work just as well as anti-depressants as we accelerate towards singularity.
Punctuous comments on psychoanalysis to top it all off as well. Fun read.
Ironically, Whatever may work just as well as anti-depressants as we accelerate towards singularity.
Punctuous comments on psychoanalysis to top it all off as well. Fun read.
dark
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
The nihilist here is poignantly cast against the bureaucrat, who Houellebecq paints as someone who has found deep meaning and purpose. Rather than begrudgingly accepting procedure and formality, the bureaucrat is passionate and devoted to it. Where a nihilist fails to find meaning even in the foundational elements of human experience, the bureaucrat can find it in arbitrary rules. How overwhelmed with meaning the bureaucrat must be when he falls in love or finds god?
3.5/5
Slim and existential book about the alienation of modern tech work and the consequences of extending neoliberalism into sex and romance. Pretty interesting novel, but let down by the fact that nothing really happens for most of the reading time.
Instead, we have what accounts to relatively fast moving breakdown for the protagonist, who, suffering from alienation and a lack of love, gives in to some pretty ugly thoughts.
Despite the pessimism the book is drenched in, the ending was weirdly hopeful and uplifting.
Interestingly, it is often bandied about that this is the first incel novel. Like many broad media pronouncements, it really isn't the case. The protagonist is very much a misogynist and a misanthrope, but he doesn't have the sense of entitlement and homicidal rage that defines the movement. His companion superficially fits the movement, but is still not an example as he never gives up the chance of finding romantic love.
Slim and existential book about the alienation of modern tech work and the consequences of extending neoliberalism into sex and romance. Pretty interesting novel, but let down by the fact that nothing really happens for most of the reading time.
Instead, we have what accounts to relatively fast moving breakdown for the protagonist, who, suffering from alienation and a lack of love, gives in to some pretty ugly thoughts.
Despite the pessimism the book is drenched in, the ending was weirdly hopeful and uplifting.
Interestingly, it is often bandied about that this is the first incel novel. Like many broad media pronouncements, it really isn't the case. The protagonist is very much a misogynist and a misanthrope, but he doesn't have the sense of entitlement and homicidal rage that defines the movement. His companion superficially fits the movement, but is still not an example as he never gives up the chance of finding romantic love.
HOUELLEBECQ è una coltellata al centro del petto. Ma quante verità.