Ageing roué Michel Houellebecq, the Serge Gainsbourg of the literary world, has won France’s most prestigious literary prize for his latest novel, La Carte et le Territoire (The Map and the Territory). Not before time, his supporters will say. But, then again, Houellebecq has long polarised opinion, and Les Cartes et le Territoire – featuring a foul-smelling, alcoholic, atrociously dressed writer called Michel Houellebecq, who is murdered in brutal fashion – promises to entrench that reputation.
He was interviewed by the Paris Review last month. He discussed his literary influences, his upbringing in France and Algeria, his avant garde family life, the art of fiction, sex and love in a material world, the cult of youth, metaphysics and the role of context in forming a provocative style. I recommend reading the entire piece, but here are some extracts:
On love and marriage: “I think there is a sharp contrast for most people between life at university, where they meet lots of people, and the moment when they enter the workforce, when they basically no longer meet anyone.
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