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A review by vex97
The Elementary Particles by Michel Houellebecq
1.0
Dropped this book 3/4 of the way through. Main reason: got bored.
It's disappointing to come to this book after reading Houellebecq's Whatever. I enjoyed Whatever for its dive into the human condition of atomized and sexually frustrated individuals in the context of advanced hyper-capitalism. Thus, I came into Elementary Particles in anticipation; this is considered Houllebecq's best work, and I wanted more of what was in Whatever. But here, Houellebecq's execution is lacking, to say the least.
After reading yet another dry account of Bruno masturbating, I just stopped reading. More than halfway through the book, I still had no idea what the narrative was. Rather, the story consisted of the characters going on long and boring expositions with lurid details which seemed to just be there just for shock factor. And the book isn't intelligent. For instance, there is a blatant and unoriginal Crime and Punishment ripoff character who likens himself to Napoleon and uses that to justify heinous Satanic deeds. Indeed, the "philosophical" remarks that are sprinkled throughout the work are either trivial (e.g., capitalist societies value youth above old age) or specious (e.g., there is no such thing as paternal love, Charles Manson was an inevitable product of the hippie movement, etc.).
On another note, this book is racist. Considering Houllebecq's personal views, it is not far-fetched to tie Bruno's racist and Islamaphobic remarks to the author's actual views. At least in Whatever, the protagonist's misogyny is understandable given that he is a sexually-frustrated male. (Of course, understandable being that the protagonist espousing misogynistic views is consistent with the narrative; misogyny is never defensible.) But the racism in this book comes out of left field and is completely unnecessary to the "narrative."
Overall, don't waste your time. There are much better authors than Houellebecq (e.g., Dostoevesky, Schopenhauer, Cioran, etc.) that explore the human condition in a more intelligent, better-written manner without needless misogyny and racism.
It's disappointing to come to this book after reading Houellebecq's Whatever. I enjoyed Whatever for its dive into the human condition of atomized and sexually frustrated individuals in the context of advanced hyper-capitalism. Thus, I came into Elementary Particles in anticipation; this is considered Houllebecq's best work, and I wanted more of what was in Whatever. But here, Houellebecq's execution is lacking, to say the least.
After reading yet another dry account of Bruno masturbating, I just stopped reading. More than halfway through the book, I still had no idea what the narrative was. Rather, the story consisted of the characters going on long and boring expositions with lurid details which seemed to just be there just for shock factor. And the book isn't intelligent. For instance, there is a blatant and unoriginal Crime and Punishment ripoff character who likens himself to Napoleon and uses that to justify heinous Satanic deeds. Indeed, the "philosophical" remarks that are sprinkled throughout the work are either trivial (e.g., capitalist societies value youth above old age) or specious (e.g., there is no such thing as paternal love, Charles Manson was an inevitable product of the hippie movement, etc.).
On another note, this book is racist. Considering Houllebecq's personal views, it is not far-fetched to tie Bruno's racist and Islamaphobic remarks to the author's actual views. At least in Whatever, the protagonist's misogyny is understandable given that he is a sexually-frustrated male. (Of course, understandable being that the protagonist espousing misogynistic views is consistent with the narrative; misogyny is never defensible.) But the racism in this book comes out of left field and is completely unnecessary to the "narrative."
Overall, don't waste your time. There are much better authors than Houellebecq (e.g., Dostoevesky, Schopenhauer, Cioran, etc.) that explore the human condition in a more intelligent, better-written manner without needless misogyny and racism.