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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.