Michel Houellebecq
fuck...i had it in my hand, but decided to get some other magazines instead. i was planning on getting it this weekend, but i want to read it NOW. rar.
i think you're right about recognizing the distinction between critique and review; perhaps this is a line that's been obfuscated by the likes of a laura miller who's taken what could have been an insightful analysis and turned it into personal attacks. however, was it her job to review or to critique? lester bangs was a reviewer who critiqued, and we love him for it...and i don't think we'd consider his reviews worthless, even if we are reading them a few decades later.
overall, the whole laura miller debacle is only bothersome when reading cult member commentary. it seems the review could not be seperated from the critique, and her critique is dead on: chuck needs to get new devices! more to the point, i wonder if there would have been such a backlash if laura was a lawrence. when i read things like "musta been her time of the month" or "she needs to get laid" or even "i wonder if chuck fucked her and didn't call the next day," THAT's when i get angry. these things are irrelevant, and in saying so, the poster's otherwise intelligent commentary has been negated. in other words, your critique has become a review and your contributions to subject discourse are worth as much as laura miller's.
i didn't read either of the threads in their entirety, because i got sick of them after page 2.
Since when is Houellebecq a Romantic?
not a Romantic, as in the 18th century literary revolt against neoclassicism, but romantic, as in believing love will save the day.
And also, at the same time, America's favorite new French nihilist.
I love French nihilists. They do it RIGHT. Not these shithead suburban nihilists that hate their parents.
BTW...aren't the terms "romantic" and "nihilist" contradictory?
When I think of nihilists, I think of The Big Lebowski. "Vee are nihilists, vee care about nussing."
I'm not a Houellebecq scholar, so take my words with as many grains of "pretentious asshole" as you wish. I loved EP, thats all, and I don't remember any romance in EP. I'm glad other people dig Houellebecq and are willing to talk about it!
Holy fucking shit, everybody. In addition to an enormous article on Michel ("Another good reason not to hate the French"), this month's issue of the Believer also has articles about Howard Dean (experiential, on the campaign trail), Lester Bangs ("Let Us Now Kill White Elephants") and an INTERVIEW with Andy Richter. Good lord. This is almost too much.
Further inspection: they also have an article about my favorite movie ever, Goodfellas, and an article by Nick Hornby!
What's that you say? This magazine is published especially for the patioman? I'm having trouble disagreeing.
[url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/2290321095/qid=1063915303/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/103-8648059-8175055?v=glance&s=books] La Poursuite Du Bonheur[/url]
Noticed this on Amazon. Does anyone know if, or when, a translated version is going to be released?
was that believer artical great, or what? it's like the author read this thread....
it said something about a new book being published in england, maybe that's it?
errr...
what the hell happened to the rest of your post?
p.s. what a fun thread!
I'm currently reading Atomised (aka Elementary Particles) and just wanted to comment on what I'm sure is a different translation than what some of you other folks are reading. They really seem like petty things that are changed simply to keep the reader more interested and able to relate. I've picked up the UK translation and despite the fact that the protagonists are wandering around France, they still manage to stop by a shop for some chips and have a good wank every now and then. I'm almost expecting Bruno to suddenly shout at the top of his lungs "Blimey, sod off!" I'm just curious if any of you multilingual type people have read this or any other books in two or more languages and how well the novel translates.
interesting question, rents. i was wondering about the translation myself, but nobody answered me way back when. now, if someone was, say, in scotland, and happened to stumble upon les particules elementaires (stay with me now) and sent it to me, i'd make a point on answering our question myself 
Hmmmmmm....Anybody currently living in Scotland? Anyone? Is that a hand I see in the back? No? Just stretching? Ok. Well, I'll see what I can do, especially since I'll be spending a good hunk of the beginning of April in France. Adieu.
Where exactly ?
ok, i didnt read through all of this thread
but id just like to say, ive read both Platform and Atomised and really quite enjoyed them
[QUOTE=franc tireur]Where exactly ?[/QUOTE]
you're the guy i had called out the first time on the translation comparison...
i think you should head up the translation committee, franc.
[QUOTE=franc tireur]Where exactly ?[/QUOTE]
Well, starting off in Paris. I've got a friend who's got a house just outside Nimes, so I'll be there for a few days, then going to visit a friend in Barcelona, then staying with friends of a friend just outside Marseilles in (I think the place is called) Rognac, then on our way to Monaco via St. Trop'. From there, we're making a few more stops in Italy to see a friend or two, as well as one in Geneva. We may stop in Dijon on the way back to Paris. One of these days I'll be hitting up the west coast of France (I'm particularly desperate to see Normandy), but until then I'll just have to settle for the French Riviera. I'm really excited for it.
Oh, this month's issue of the Believer has an article about Michel Houllebecq.