Michel Houllebecq’s Latest Scandal

[@benp4877]

Submission was a masterpiece. That said, this guy hits the nail on the head about Houellebecq’s inherent contradictions. Reminds me of Bukowski in a way. Great interview.

[@fritznovak4482]

He is in a lot of ways quite similar bukowski. I’ve read a lot of them both, but never really considered the similarities before. Food for thought.

[@dimitrikorsakov2570]

Great conversation, keep it up, Zoe!

[@Quillette]

Thank you!!!

[@benqurayza7872]

Houellebecq's adventures with the Dutch "Art Collective" were certainly self-inflicted. But he deserves enormous credit for discussing Islam's challenge to France's Christian heritage and republican values. Islam has assaulted France before. Charles Martel beat back a Moorish invasion at Tours (central France) in 732. The Barbary pirates ravaged the coasts of southern Europe and paralyzed Mediterranean shipping for centuries, prompting the French colonization of North Africa. French elites foolishly imported large numbers of unassimilable North Africans in the 20th century.

[@mrtuesdayafternoon]

Charles Martel European hero, Houellebecq toooo?

[@edutuario]

Anyone that views the current integration problems and the challenges that migration brings under the prism of Charles Martel‘s victory at Tours is clearly not capable of bringing anything useful to the table. This simplistic crusader mentality is not capable of solve any problems. France did not even existed back then.

[@daheikkinen]

You are the best, Quillette!

[@wagner5424]

How do these people not know about the Dutch farmers? They seem really uninformed.

[@snowyfictions]

RJ Smith is great :)

[@fugazzetaymantecol8964]

He was right all the time.

[@TrevorMcNeil-e1y]

I don't have the same biographical background on Houellebecq so much as the work itself, which always struck me, especially in his earlier work, as a sort of satirical pessimism. There are clearly things he believes but it can be difficult to tell through all the bitter irony. At his core, Houellebecq is an embittered former humanist betrayed by the failed promises of the Enlightenment.

[@lattakia3812]

I support Colonisation. It created Australia, USA, NZ and Canada.

[@annarboriter]

India, Pakistan, etc

[@Ozgipsy]

Houellebecq is a prophet of the near future. Almost always. He tapped into the culture and development of France as Jean Raspail did. Sadly, Raspail was hounded to an early death by the people with "correct" opinions.

[@cut_thru]

🎉🎉

[@joemcgann7510]

Interesting the interviewee refers to ‘immigrants’ plainly without considering himself one

[@eastwoofer]

All great art is contradictory--that's what makes it truthful. Go home lawyer boy, you're out of your depth.

[@lynjazz5122]

Well, it all sounds REALLY interestin', at least! I mean, c'mon, most writers' lives are, like, sadly disappointing--at least in a public sense, not in a personal sense. If he DIDN'T have any scandals to disclose, THEN I'd be disappointed!

[@dirkusmaximus9268]

YES, of course !

[@pdjinne65]

Michel is a national treasure.

[@andresbucio3000]

Atomised is not his first novel

[@dimitrikorsakov2570]

Is RJ on Instagram.

[@Quillette]

I don't belive so but he is on Twitter twitter.com/RJSwrites

[@Necrostrike]

Considering that picture you put out of him, yes.

[@Quillette]

😂😂as RJ says, he wasn't bad looking as a young man!

[@warmflash]

Fantastic 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻