Scan barcode
A review by pursuer
The Map and the Territory by Michel Houellebecq
4.0
Houellebecq speaks with such a severe pessimism about life and the human experience, that it can be hard to feel happy after a good read. Francois in Submission is left with only his hedonistic desires, drifted away from his concern with God. Michel and Bruno in The Elementary Particles finish their lives with degrees of dissatisfaction, dying as they lived their own separate lives.
Jed Martin in the Map and the Territory dies with regret, yet he is the most victorious out of the three. He was able to change his world, able to help his friend. He died, still chasing his desire, but perhaps this desire was pure happiness. A longing for something more than money and love. Unlike Francois, Jed’s focus in life was not the women he screwed, but the work he did. He was able to create his own niche, rising from tragedy, dying with dignity. There is no other happier end for a Houellebecq character.
It was a refreshing change of pace to not be inundated with graphic accounts of coitus in a Houellebecq work. The man can write such thoughtful prose when not smushed in between pages bordering on smut. And I love his other novels, but the sex bothered me somewhat. This novel felt so impactful, it felt so meaningful, more than Houellebecq’s other novels. There was a sense of hope within this book. That we can rise up for the occasion and act on opportunities given to us.
Perhaps this is too much of an optimistic look at a Houellebecq novel, and I know this sex-less read will be the last of his bibliography. My optimism will be dashed by Platform or Serotonin, but Jed Martin’s story will leave just as big of an impact on me.
Jed Martin in the Map and the Territory dies with regret, yet he is the most victorious out of the three. He was able to change his world, able to help his friend. He died, still chasing his desire, but perhaps this desire was pure happiness. A longing for something more than money and love. Unlike Francois, Jed’s focus in life was not the women he screwed, but the work he did. He was able to create his own niche, rising from tragedy, dying with dignity. There is no other happier end for a Houellebecq character.
It was a refreshing change of pace to not be inundated with graphic accounts of coitus in a Houellebecq work. The man can write such thoughtful prose when not smushed in between pages bordering on smut. And I love his other novels, but the sex bothered me somewhat. This novel felt so impactful, it felt so meaningful, more than Houellebecq’s other novels. There was a sense of hope within this book. That we can rise up for the occasion and act on opportunities given to us.
Perhaps this is too much of an optimistic look at a Houellebecq novel, and I know this sex-less read will be the last of his bibliography. My optimism will be dashed by Platform or Serotonin, but Jed Martin’s story will leave just as big of an impact on me.