I found it interesting if somewhat unbelievable even at the time. It feels like it’s become less absurd (specifically the Islamo-gauchist alliance) over the decade since it was written, so I find it interesting that you see it tilting the other way.
I bought the Last Man framing as soon as you got to the pentagram map that never cashes out. In an American novel that would be the engine of the third act; here it just proves Paul is not being saved by history, only dropped back into his father’s decline and his own marriage.
"his book felt very French to me. What does that mean? Good question… Certainly there is a lot of wine drinking, a fair number of R-rated sex scenes, and French politics plays a major part as well."
If you swap out the French politics for lascivious monsters, it becomes a modern American book again.
Perhaps relatedly, I was confused for a moment about the meaning of 'the last man' in the title.
But it makes me think that a metaphorical 'last man' tends to lead to a literal 'last man' as well.
Anyway, thanks for the review. Houellebecq is an author I would have read if I were a literarily ambitious version of myself. But not, even then, in the original.
"But if you like your plots to go somewhere, I would avoid it." So... probably not my cup of tea. Out of curiosity, what did you think of Submission?
Here's my review of Submission:
https://www.wearenotsaved.com/p/short-book-reviews-volume-iii?open=false#%C2%A7submission
tl;dr I thought it was dated. But it did have a more cohesive plot than Annihilation.
I found it interesting if somewhat unbelievable even at the time. It feels like it’s become less absurd (specifically the Islamo-gauchist alliance) over the decade since it was written, so I find it interesting that you see it tilting the other way.
The alliance may be more likely, but the idea that the nationalists will roll over is the part that was quickly shown to be incorrect.
I very much hope you're right.
I bought the Last Man framing as soon as you got to the pentagram map that never cashes out. In an American novel that would be the engine of the third act; here it just proves Paul is not being saved by history, only dropped back into his father’s decline and his own marriage.
"his book felt very French to me. What does that mean? Good question… Certainly there is a lot of wine drinking, a fair number of R-rated sex scenes, and French politics plays a major part as well."
If you swap out the French politics for lascivious monsters, it becomes a modern American book again.
Perhaps relatedly, I was confused for a moment about the meaning of 'the last man' in the title.
But it makes me think that a metaphorical 'last man' tends to lead to a literal 'last man' as well.
Anyway, thanks for the review. Houellebecq is an author I would have read if I were a literarily ambitious version of myself. But not, even then, in the original.