Review of Michel Houellebecq's The Elementary Particles

Interspersed with hypergeneralized bits of pseudo intellectual social commentary, Michel Houellebecq's The Elementary Particles is worthless tripe. Hailed as the best writing since Camus this novel managed to fool all those reviewers who were conned in to writing nice things about it. It is mostly the story about a pathetic man who grows up to middle age and masturbates a lot while fantasizing about (and hitting on) 15 year old girls.

I find it difficult to understand why the french are so obsessed with the idea of not having sex. It seems like anyone in France who can blabber on at length about sexual frustration is seen as a brilliant philosopher. It is like the country is trapped in a big Eric Roemer film festival. Ultimately the book concludes with its big finale that asexuality is the most profound human discovery possible. What a pathetic culture it must be to find this book worthwhile.

The end of the book is full of confused French-sounding fake philosophical mumbo jumbo, which really does sound a lot like what passes for contemporary French "thought" on just about any given topic.

While the book has a few good lines and one or two insights here and there about things like loneliness and family, at its very core the book is just plain stupid.