TMO Tags: michel houellebecq

Michel Houellebecq’s Platform

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

“If the general climate is bad, all will be affected by it. Men and women of letters are not expected to do more than they can, as they express this bad situation in their literary production. With respect to the question of the appeal of a particular work, the whole thing depends on whether the [...]

A couple of minutes with Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

At the start of Haruki Murakami’s The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, the narrator is rung-up by a mysterious female voice who demands, like a survey-taker, ten minutes of his time: “Ten minutes, please,” said a woman on the other end. I’m good at recognizing people’s voices, but this was not one I knew. “Excuse me? [...]

Running Up That Hill

Thursday, November 1st, 2007

Around 80 pages into Anne Enright’s The Gathering, I remarked to a friend that the experience of reading it with a heavy cold felt as enjoyable as walking up Croagh Patrick barefoot. However, just as pious pilgrims probably feel some sense of accomplishment while they gingerly massage their shredded soles after completing their climb, I [...]

The Age of Sartre

Wednesday, August 29th, 2007

Jean-Paul Sartre was born 100 years ago today. His reputation has taken a bit of a battering since his death in 1980–his wilful blindness* to the atrocities perpetrated by Stalin is perhaps the biggest black mark against him. But don’t be put off by the stereotypical image of the bug-eyed monstre sacré wreathed in cigarette [...]