/lit/ - Literature

About a 7

9.56

Most French writers are overrated. Especially this one. Just a bunch of garbage on par with cowboy walmart book romance sex drama for a guy on 4channel to read and say wow, so true!

i dont care to share what i think about this man

>>16187145
He's aight

He looks like a fop.

Sarcasm.

>>16187145
Who is this semen demon?

Elementary particles is absolutely fantastic and Whatever wa pretty good.

I don't care to change your mind desu

>>16187145
Submission is surprisingly good. I think some of the earlier sex and misery stuff can be reduced to caricature and getting attention for saying what other people didn't want to, but Submission is a genuinely fine book

>>16187726
itü's actually pretty bad, brings absolutely nothing 1/3 of the book is an essay or facts about the other french author. no plot, sex scenes describing girl liking his old ass balls, very cursory about whole "le muslim overtake france!!"
really felt like some /pol/ tier, hack trying to make some money off of fear of europe being terrorised by isis shit

>>16189016
I assume you’re unaware of the fact that Europe will be 50% Muslim by 2050 or so, judging off of the irreversible demographic trends of the past few decades. The youngest cohort are barely European. There won’t be a Europe by 2100.

>>16189016
filtered

The only thing i have read by him was a paragraph posted here about how love isn't real and we are all alone in the end etc. etc. ,it was the most iam14andthisisdeep thing i read in my life
>>16189021
yawn

>>16187145
>Be me
>Decide to give Houllebecq a go because he is always mentioned in here
>Buy ‘Atomised’
>He goes into detail about a kid who jizzed on a cat and killed it, getting ass raped in a boarding school and hating blacks because their dicks are probably bigger than his.

>10/10, would listen to /lit/ again

>>16189016
Holy shit, it is actually unreal just how hard you missed the point. Read Knausgaard's essay or something.
I don't like Houellebecq all that much either, but seriously, you have like 60 IQ.

>>16189059
Well... if you'd like to live in a world modeled after Saudi Arabia... then I guess it's a good thing. If you've read the book, by the way, the protagonist isn't exactly against the Islamic takeover either.

To me, it makes no sense for people to mock Houellebecq and the ideas presented in Submission, considering how close he understood the pulse of today's world. For fuck's sake, the day Submission came out, Charlie Hebdo was planning to mock him in a satirical piece. What stopped the release? An attack by radical Islamic terrorists at their headquarters. The staff didn't even realize what was happening until it became clear that it wasn't a prank but instead a brutal attack. The universe has a sense of cosmic justice, I think, or at least a rich yet morbid sense of humor.

You'd think Houellebecq's detractors would have been silenced out of the sheer irony of the situation, but today's clown world knows no shame in the pursuit of ideology. No bad thoughts, must keep consooming, no bad thoughts, "right-wing" bad. IDK, maybe an Islamic theocracy would be a good idea. It's only the turbo-faggot leftists whose lives would be at stake, anyway. Why bother even warning about the incoming crisis of Western civilization when it would be an improvement to the lives we have today?

>>16189021
Muslims are irrelevant, they have almost no economical, cultural or political power in Europe. They're an easy target to pick on.

>>16187145
I read Whatever hoping it would be shit as a way to cope and think I could be a great writer too, turns out it's great and I'm hopeless

>>16189267
>It's only the turbo-faggot leftists whose lives would be at stake, anyway
that is correct, all those multicolored haired people that mocks you for being fragile and a thing of the past are the ones that will experience parachute-less base-jump

>>16189021
>I assume you’re unaware of the fact that Europe will be 50% Muslim by 2050 or so
>the most wild projections place it at 14%
Why are you retarded?

>>16187145
ta gueule fdp

>>16189359
it's already at around 12-14% in France, beyond 20 in Paris and 30 in Marseilles. Maybe your projections takes eastern europe into account but that's not what western europe will look like

>>16189378
who cares

>>16189378
>it's already at around 12-14% in France
8.8%. Why are you retarded?
>Maybe your projections takes eastern europe into account but that's not what western europe will look like
Pretty much the entirety of western europe (exception is Sweden) has taken an anti-immigration stance because of the last few years. Whatever boomer facebook infographic you have your unsourced projections from, I assure you, it is retarded.

>>16187145
>change my mind
miss me with that shit, bulb
yakub doesn't engineer mistakes

>>16189378
Isn't the 14% number for Africans in general?

>>16187145
I've only read Atomised and I got to say I loved it.
Houllebecq manages to paint such a brutal picture of modern life without being too heavy handed. Don't get me wrong, the book isn't subtle either, but he does a good job at exposing the complexities of modern problems without simplifying. For example, he understands the incel problem quite well and how some men are just never going to get any pussy, but he also shows how women suffer a lot because of the modern sexual dynamics.

Overall it's just great social commentary, and I'm saying this a very lib/lefty person. Another thing I like about the book is how sincere it is. There's a part in the book where a father admits that he will be jealous of his son when he hits 15 because they will be "competing for the same girls". It takes balls to write something like that. That's true sincerity, not DFW bs.

The book is also strangely prophetic when you consider it was published in 1998.

The prose is nothing special. So you're not going to like the book if you read it hoping for some Nabokov-esqe aesthetic bliss inducing mastery of language. And from what I've heard from other anons he is quite repetitive in his themes across different books (which I wouldn't know because I've only read his supposedly best one).

But overrall, Atomised was fucking amazing. And I can't think of anything better that has come out in the past 20 years.

yeah real urgent inquiry bruh lmfao

>>16189381
t. Ismail ibn Abdullah

>>16189437
Yes blacks and arabs, ie barbarians
>>16189406
The 12-14% is common knowledge, the Marseilles and Paris numbers are personal estimates for two cities that I know inside out. You don't know the first thing about the situation. First off the demographics alone will overwhelm us, but also France literally can't stop immigration because there's a law called regroupement familial that was voted in the 70s which says that if you have family in France you have the right to come here, so something like a few million of people from the african continent already have the right to come. Add to that marriages with people from the country which is very common and clandestine immigration and refugees and you're set.

>>16189359
First of all, "14%" isn't anything to scoff it. That will make Muslims as potentially influential in Europe as African-Americans are in the United States. Given the lack of compatibility between Western and Muslim values... that will likely become a huge flashpoint in future politics.

Second of all, "14%" grossly underestimates the severity of the demographic trend. If you want to understand how *bad* the situation is, you need to look at population pyramids that divide populations into age cohorts. European natives tend to be older and less likely to reproduce. They also tend to be more spread out in suburbs and the countryside, away from the cities. In contrast, Muslim migrants and their descendants tend to be young, prefer having large families, and cluster in the cities.

We're already at the point where most urban youth in European cities are Muslims. By the time we reach "20%" Muslim, European civilization will reach the point of no return, as the cities will be made of a vast majority of Muslims, and most of the remaining Europeans will be ancient countryside zoomers dying out without any substantial replacement, to be eclipsed by the descendants of Muslim migrants. Europe is pretty much over, and trust me, you do NOT want to live in a Sweden that is 30% Muslim. It's going to get ugly.

>>16189381

>>16189603
who cares though, Muslims are fine

>>16189611
yeah, acid attacks are pretty okay in my book

>>16189637
acid attacks on dishonourable women are preferable to the decadence of the west quite frankly

>>16189644
t. Abbas

>>16189649
I'm white christian

>>16189657
Are you ready to pay the jizya tax? Your daughters will probably pay the jizzya tax, too.

>>16189016
>>16189059
>>16189320
>>16189359
>>16189381
>>16189406
>>16189611
>>16189644
>>16189657

>>16189941
it's sexually frustrated inner-city bugmen that Houellebecq primarily writes for

>>16189982
"bugmen" wouldn't even touch a book by Houllebecq, he's way too provocative

cette homme, dans mon pays il est rien

>>16190375
stop fake frog-posting.

>>16189682
His daughters will suck and fuck muslim cocks

>>16189320
I wonder what it's like to be this ignorant

>>16189450
Yes, Atomised is good but very similar to other authors. That is why I think it is highly overrated.

I also think that it is quite repetetive, once you read one of his novels you've read them all.

The fact that Houellebecq is praised in the mass literary world it just proves that we are a reactionary and sensitive society.

>>16190658
>The fact that Houellebecq is praised in the mass literary world it just proves that we are a reactionary and sensitive society.
he's not though. if anything, he's begrudgingly given the smallest amount of credit that the literary world is obligated to give without being rendered a joke

>>16190658
>>16190719
disagreed with both of you, he is highly celebrated yet and the people that celebrates him are not reactionnaries at all. I think he managed to exert an influence on most critics and literature related papers, he probably has a lot of well placed friends. Also there's a kind of autism in France about national writers so the simple fact that he's so well received globally already makes him untouchable

>>16190375
>Cette homme

>Materialism is a lesser evil. Its values are contemptible, but nevertheless less destructive, less cruel than those of Islam.
what a midwit opinion

>>16189059
>iam14andthisisdeep
Friendly reminder you've been arguing with a redditor.

>>16190807
At least reddit has bookscirclejerk

>>16189244
please read more books so that you can have your own opinion, not just take some popular min kamp author and keep shilling off it. I wish english was my 1st language and I read submission not years but months ago so that i could argue with you more efficiently but thats all

The elementary particles is a 10/10. Other novels can't catch up but he's probably still the greatest living writer

>>16190961
you should return to 'bookscirclejerk' then

>>16190961
go back

>>16189598
Hopefully white people can manoeuvre themselves so that they're in power and not entirely disenfranchised. If the Jews can manage it I'm sure we can.

>>16187145
9

>>16187145
solid 6. i really liked the possibility of an island and submission but the rest of his books i can't even remember the plots of

>>16189598
remember that in submission the islamic party doesn't win a majority in elections, they only win enough the make the socialists have to form a coalition government with them

>>16187145
My ranking from best to worst. (Just my opinion)

1. Whatever
2. The possibility of an Island
3. Serotonin
4. Atomised
5. Platform
6. The map and the territory
7. Submission

>>16192753
that would only happen if we developed the uber-tribalism and nepotism that Jews use to themselves on top

the upper class whites will do that I'm sure, but the rest of us will be left to destruction

>>16194189
1. The Elementary Particles
2. The Possibility of an Island
3. Serotonin
4. Submission
5. Whatever
6. The Map and the Territory

Haven't read Platform

There is only one great french writer and it's pic related.

>>16194189
>1. Whatever
>Guys guys guyyyyyyys this is literally meeeeeee

>>16194376
>>16194189
Question. Currently reading Submission and the first 40 pages have been extremely fun.
Had any of you guys read any decadents before? Or the Naturalists. Huysmans, Bloy, Zola, etc. Seems like some knowledge and appreciation for French lit is required to not feel "left out" (like when Borges cites or mentions some writers and part of the game is knowing what he's talking about).

So far it's following the same formula as Whatever and Platform. I know a bit about the ending or muslim premise, so I wonder how that will play out.

I only read Serotonin and I enjoyed it.
Is Platform good as well?

>>16189682
>jizz
haha

>>16195127
This but unironically

>>16195181
I didn't read Huysmans the first time around and more or less nodded with some Wikipediaing, but enjoyed the book on its own merits. I read Huysmans recently, and the book got so much better. The book should really be thought of as being part of a conversation with A Rebours and his La-Bas trilogy about finding the sacred vs. personal comfort.

>>16190375
Halte au grenouille-postage factice.

>>16196720
Good take. The whole plot runs parallel to Huysman's lifestory (from the influence of Zola to catholicism, with décadentisme in the middle). This is probably the strongest idea Houellebecq has had yet, to use Huysman's life to talk about the islamization of France. (Except serotonine but I haven't read it yet) Which is why >>16194189 is fucking retarded/

>>16194814
I used to be attracted to his edginess, but he is a fucking joke. You can tell the guy spend all his time searching for new mentions of his name on Google and then write some shit no one cares about on Nabe's News because some kids made fun of him on jeuxvideo.com. Truly pathetic.

>>16196720
What's more is that some events in the book parallel La Bas. Huysmans' self insert is writing about Gilles de Rais and constantly ruminating about his life, and Submission's MC is doing the same with Huysmans. There's an election going on in both books (funnily enough, La Bas' winner never takes office and actually dies a month later iirc), the far right suave guy might stand for the bell guy (both fervent Catholics), etc.
I hope there's some parallel to the black mass.

I also wished I could pirate the later Huysmans novels with the translator from Daedalus. The only available ones are public domain ones.

>>16194814
there's being provocateur and then there's having a problem, and the difference is talent

>>16189267
This

L'extension du domaine de la lutte is great.
His fist book iirc.
How can anyone attack that masterpiece?
this guys is just an honest guy that pours his soul on a sheet of paper, he's badass

>>16187145
Read his full poetry and it was just like a Budelaire wannabe, but i'll give him the benefit of doubt because i didn't read him in french
i'm sure he thinks to himself 'what would Budelaire do' before doing anything and that his appearance is just a pose to mimick his hero

Any frenchfags read the Beigbeder from this quote? Apparently he's also a writer, and has a couple novels out.
>During high school, Houellebecq spent hours by himself watching trains at the station next door. "I would get on them and go nowhere," he recalled. "Just get on, get off." He was frequently depressed. Beigbeder realized just how depressed one evening not long ago, when he popped a Moody Blues ballad into his CD player and saw Houellebecq burst into tears: "He started crying, crying. Finally he explained that at all the parties when he was 18, all the boys and girls slow-danced to this song, but he was alone and no one talked to him because he was ugly." Then again, Beigbeder said dryly, Houellebecq "loves pathetic -- all his work is about being pathetic."

>>16189320
They gulf states have enormous financial power and they use it.

Just finished Submission. 4th book I've read by him and probably my favorite so far. Some parts were hilarious.
One detail I noticed was that perhaps the choice of wine (a Meursault) when he sits down to talk with the dean was a reference to Camus. Meursault, perfectly unknown to himself, shoots an arab not out of malice or anything. He might as well go and embrace the guy. So Francois, for lack of a better option (unsure on how to fix his life or why he feels the way he feels), chooses to convert. Which of course doesn't actually take place in the book, but it's very likely it will happen eventually.
Overall, quite pleasant. Similar formula to Whatever and Platform but none of the incel bitterness or tragedy. I had the impression it was supposed to be provocative or incendiary and it was far from it.
Next I'll toss a coin to decide on Serotonin or Possibility of an Island, but for now I've read enough about brands of alcohol, internet and train systems.

Also bump to see if anyone has a take on this guy (>>16201796)

>>16190375
>Cette homme


Mec bwahahahahaha

>>16201796
>>16203219
Frenchman here, saw a movie adaptation of a Beigbeder novel done by hime, read the first two pages of a novel of his, and I hear him talk from time time. Artistically he's nothing, really the epitome of mediocrity but as a man he looks nice to be around even if I'm not into the west Paris clubber attitude. He just looks very gentle.
>>16201698
Look up his album, especially his song 'Plein été'. It's not so bad.

>>16203539
he looks like the epitome of a gallic chieftain

>>16197126
gotta appreciate Les Porcs though, fascinating insight into the whole french "dissidence" milieu

>>16187184
>for a guy on 4channel to read and say wow, so true!
Like your comment ?

>>16196933
>>16190407
>>16203311
>>16190773
relaxez votre culs

>>16204613
t. cette homo

>>16204613
>votre culs

>>16204613
Parviendra t il à écrire trois mots sans faute d'accord ?

Are Beigbeder and Houellebecq actually friends in real life?

>>16201224
This, you can say what you want about him but he is probably the most honest writer ive ever read

>>16203539
Thanks for the answer.