To be honest, modern French literature is difficult for me. And Houellebecq occupies a special place in this difficult path. I remember how ten years ago I wade through the jungle and intricacies of "Elementary particles" and "Expansion of the space of struggle", after which I put a bold cross on this author. giving preference to such titans of French postmodernism as Keno, Perec and Robbe-Grillet.
“Michel Houellebecq is a powerful writer, no matter what they say about him. His books, unlike thousands of others, perfectly polished, published every year and from which, in fact, no one is hot or cold, disturb us, cause rejection or knock the ground out from under our feet - they affect us.” Le Monde
But as time went on, priorities changed, and having safely missed the "Platform" and "Island Opportunity", it was far from immediately, but nevertheless decided to open this last novel.
And in general, I did not regret it. Houellebecq paints the palette of modern culture on a large scale and in detail, with its inherent craving for big capital and business, which in turn turns this very culture into a rather profitable business. Artists create ideas, gallery owners breed artists, skyrocketing the cost of their art, etc. etc. But this is only the background of a large novel about contemporary European reality where most of the characters are actually living and living people.
Drawing in the image of Martin the image of a modern man of art, a person not adapted to life, but in his own sane and integral awareness of the world around him and his worthlessness in it, Houellebecq contrasts him with the images of heroes of different generations and views - father, girlfriends, police commissar. But in the gallery of events ahead of each other, these images are clearly not enough.
And here a masterful literary device is going on stage as one of the heroes of Houellebecq himself, under his own name, with his own life position, which may differ from the position of the real Houellebecq (this is unknown to us), but ideally coincides in the novel with unfitness and loneliness in life. Martin himself. And the terrible death of the author-hero is just a literary device for enhancing the impact on the reader of the hermit life of Martin himself, which happened after the wealth fell on him.
In the finale of the novel, the author draws us a rosy picture of the near European future, which he wants to see, which the aged Martin lives, and is partly involved in the creation of this future. And this is the little that gives us hope for the creative role of contemporary art in the life of modern European people, a very illusory hope if you look at it through the prism of modern reality.
You can buy «The Map and the Territory» at Amazon.
This article was sponsored by Homayon Tavakoli.
Comments