The Possibility of an Island by Michel Houellebecq

The Possibility of an Island (Vintage International)

by Michel Houellebecq

'Who among you deserves eternal life?' Houellebecq's dazzling new novel, which moves between Paris, Andalucia and Lanzarotte, and between the near and far-distant future, is a thought provoking, sometimes shocking, and ultimately moving examination of the modern world, the trials of old age and the death of love. Written with the ferocity and candour that has characterised all his work, it will delight Houellebeq's fans, and win him many thousands more.

Reviewed by celinenyx on

1 of 5 stars

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There is not a single thing that I enjoy about Houellebecq - and it's not all his fault.

The Possibility of an Island is extremely depressing. The main characters compress life into one single drive of pleasure - sex. Life is one giant ball of suffering, with only the pinpricks of light that sex brings. The moment you get older (think forty-fifty-ish), there is no reason for you to live, since you're old and no one wants to have sex with you.

Because of this particular ontology, the book is obsessed with sex in the most banal and detached way possible. It's incredibly dull, honestly.

The Possibility of an Island is a thought experiment elaborating on what would happen if personal contact would be completely eliminated and if immortality through genetical cloning would be possible. It could also easily have been condensed into a 80-page novella, but Houellebecq revels in describing the sexual adventures of our protagonist.

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  • Started reading
  • 2 November, 2014: Finished reading
  • 2 November, 2014: Reviewed