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Atomised

By Michel Houellebecq

(52)

| eBook | 9781448113989

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Book Description

Half-brothers Michel and Bruno have a mother in common but little else. Michel is a molecular biologist, a thinker and idealist, a man with no erotic life to speak of and little in the way of human society. Bruno, by contrast, is a libertine, though more in theory than in practice, his endless lust Continue

Half-brothers Michel and Bruno have a mother in common but little else. Michel is a molecular biologist, a thinker and idealist, a man with no erotic life to speak of and little in the way of human society. Bruno, by contrast, is a libertine, though more in theory than in practice, his endless lust is all too rarely reciprocated. Both are symptomatic members of our atomised society, where religion has given way to shallow 'new age' philosophies and love to meaningless sexual connections. Atomised (Les Particules elementaires) tells the stories of the two brothers, but the real subject of the novel is in its dismantling of contemporary society and its assumptions, in its political incorrectness, and its caustic and penetrating asides on everything from anthropology to the problem pages of girls' magazines. A dissection of modern lives and loves. By turns funny, acid, infuriating, didactic, touching and visceral.

Critics

  • 'Atomised' by Michel Houellebecq

    I don't even know where to begin this review. It's no exaggeration to say this book is profound; it stayed with me long after I'd finished the last page. It's not a normal novel by any stretch of the imagination, encompassing as it does, a sociopolit ... (read full critics)

    readingmatters published on Mon, 27 Sep 2010

  • Atom bomb

    Atomised Michel Houellebecq, trs Frank Wynne (Vintage, £6.99) Buy it at a discount at BOL The friends of Michel Houellebecq: an online introduction Houellebecq interview Not that many novels get chosen by me as Pick of the Week. After reading Atomise ... (read full critics)

    guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

7 Reviews

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  • Apparently, this book has been scandalous...

    ..and I quite wouldn't define it as such. Maybe it's me with my distaste for French writers (apart from Pennac!), but I couldn't wait to finish this book. At moments it's really gripping, you hate the characters but you want to know more about them, and there's a lot of sex, too, but it's mostly, re ... (continue)

    ..and I quite wouldn't define it as such. Maybe it's me with my distaste for French writers (apart from Pennac!), but I couldn't wait to finish this book. At moments it's really gripping, you hate the characters but you want to know more about them, and there's a lot of sex, too, but it's mostly, really, a bore. I'm glad I paid it 80p. Sorry, Houllebecq.

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    Viollka said on Aug 26, 2010 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • The end of humanity is now...

    It is not easy reding, it hates humanity, but the feeing of a left ong writer that is acid about the left wing. The poverty of imagination, of ideas and life that we have today...

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    Vanhowson said on Jun 1, 2010 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • More than meat-and-two-veg

    Had seen the film way long ago, had quite liked it, read the book much later, having seen the film again, just before. The book puts more meat on the bones than the film, as ever, but when it got to the "now for the science bit..." I admit, I got a bit lost and lost a bit of interest. So, maybe I li ... (continue)

    Had seen the film way long ago, had quite liked it, read the book much later, having seen the film again, just before. The book puts more meat on the bones than the film, as ever, but when it got to the "now for the science bit..." I admit, I got a bit lost and lost a bit of interest. So, maybe I liked the film better.

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    mrpeterryan said on Jan 15, 2010 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • This got deeper and deeper as it went on, with the most amazing ending that I really didn't see coming. A tough read in places, but highly challenging and thought-provoking.

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    sid_rw said on Nov 22, 2009 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • Harrowing, compelling, desperate book about sex, society and loneliness. Plus some biology and genetics.

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    Tiziana said on Jul 16, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

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