Possibility of an Island
A worldwide phenomenon and the most important French novelist since Camus, Michel Houellebecq now delivers his magnum opus-a tale of our present circumstances told from the future, when humanity as we know it has vanished. Surprisingly poignant, philosophically compelling, and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, The Possibility of an Island is at once an indictment, an elegy, and a celebration of everything we have and are at risk of losing. It is a masterpiece from one of the world's most innovative writers.
Stats for nerds
3recommend
7mentions
7people
2009–2019years
43% recommend57% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- Michel Houellebecq is a true prophet. From his novel Atomised to The Possibility of an Island (metaphor for social media) to Soumission, he's been years ahead re zeitgeist and social climate since the 90s.
- Three books I enjoyed this year:
this census taker, China Mieville
To Say Nothing Of The Dog, Connie Willis
The Possibility of an Island, Houellebecq
If you enjoy science-fiction, it is quite possible that you wouldn't enjoy any of the books above or even classify them as science-fiction (I would though) -- so definitely look them up or try the kindle sample to see if they appeal to you.
Also, I see Ann Leckie's Ancillary trilogy mentioned elsewhere, I second that recommendation.
[Also, honourable mention to the TV show Westworld -- if it were a book I would have included.]
- Good luck with Elementary Particles. It's was too depressing for me. "The Possibility of an Island" gets better though, with a nice sci-fi underline.
- Funny thing you mentioned it. While I personally think nobody should read his works, Houellebecq is the writer to peruse after contracting a terminal case of spiritual malaise. One thing I want to add is that Houellebecq's body of work is an assortment of potential solutions to this modern day problem which has become more pronounced in the US lately.
The Extension of the Domain of the Struggle (Whatever) is his first novel. The motif is that similar to economic inequality, due to sexual liberation, the sociosexual arena has become more winner-take-all, hence the extension in the title. The plot chronicles the disillusionment of a sexless programmer in denial after going on a road trip with a similarly dysfunctional co-worker who ended up commiting suicide. The story ends the protagonist going postal but offers no practical solution.
His next book The Elementary Particles follows two half-brothers who were dysfunctional in opposite ways. One was a complete sex addict who failed to individuate and the other became a monk like molecular biologist responsible for making sexual reproduction obsolete.
His next novel Platform is an in-depth analysis of the discontentment of sex tourism from the perspective of his alter ego, which is clearly formed by his own lived experience in Indonesia. I think it's his least coherent work FWIW.
The Possibility of an Island arguably follows the timeline of Atomised and describes the nature of love through the narrative of three clones of the same person from the hedonistic present, totalitarian future and hunter-gatherer post-apocalytic future.
Submission is about the return to traditionalism after a Muslim party won the election in France. The effect is complex but nominal as we all know there is no going back.
I am waiting for the English translation of Serotonin which should be released before end of next year.
- French author/philosopher Michel Houellebecq dedicated a rather [unnecessarily] lengthy science fiction novel "The Possibility of an Island" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Possibility_of_an_Island to this subject, with the grand idea being presented that out of all years humans mainly enjoy a tiny segment of it - when they're young, as it's defined by hormonal overabundance and "seeking oneself".
Older years are spaced out between dealing with problems of choices made in the past (e.g. being young and poor is not a 100% bad situation, being old and poor is rather depressing, as chances of a light at the end of the tunnel are somewhat bleak) and health issues. He dedicates somewhat lengthy paragraphs to the correlation between depression and [lack of] sexual desire/performance, reverting back to the idea that our internal state (happiness/depression) is nothing but a hormonal construct.
- Reading this book The Possibility of an Island which postulates the same, though through a more socio-religious angle rather than technological.
