Scan barcode
A review by saltycorpse
The Possibility of an Island by Michel Houellebecq
2.0
In many ways, The Possibility of an Island follows typical Houellebecq formulas (the midlife crisis man, one or two women he ends up in a relationship with, his self-pity and self-reflection, and ultimately, suicide). However, I found Possibility more tedious than previous Houellebecq novels - the protagonist more self-pitying, more pathetic and far less easy to sympathize with and incredibly more whiny than other characters of his calibre. Most of Houellebecq's protagonists are certainly not meant to be likeable beings, they all sting with satire and are meant to be a mirror, or avatars that the reader inhabits, only to find self-disgust and at times profound reflection.
If it were not for the presence of Daniel24 and Daniel25 to balance out Daniel1's pathetic story, the novel would have all together been unbearable.
However, the subsequent Daniels proved the strong point in the novel, as they are the maturation and growth of concepts alluded to in Houellebecq's other novels (Atomised), and within these characters a vast and well-imagined post-apocalyptic world grows, and a potential fate of our species arises.
Had the book relied on the later Daniels as the strength of the story rather than Daniel1's journey, for me the novel would have been far more interesting and worthwhile. Still, it was well-written and contained what you expect from Houellebecq; but certainly it is not my favourite and the praise lavished on it I do not think was deserved in comparison to his less recent and more recent novels.
If it were not for the presence of Daniel24 and Daniel25 to balance out Daniel1's pathetic story, the novel would have all together been unbearable.
However, the subsequent Daniels proved the strong point in the novel, as they are the maturation and growth of concepts alluded to in Houellebecq's other novels (Atomised), and within these characters a vast and well-imagined post-apocalyptic world grows, and a potential fate of our species arises.
Had the book relied on the later Daniels as the strength of the story rather than Daniel1's journey, for me the novel would have been far more interesting and worthwhile. Still, it was well-written and contained what you expect from Houellebecq; but certainly it is not my favourite and the praise lavished on it I do not think was deserved in comparison to his less recent and more recent novels.