The Elementary Particles

"This remarkable best-seller," wroteThe Economist, "is France's biggest literary sensation since Francoise Sagan, people are saying, or since Albert Camus even . . . The passing to a new generation of the literary flame--albeit, in this instance, a blowtorch." In a firestorm of controversy,l'affaire Houellebecqhas spread throughout Europe and beyond, with translations of the book undertaken in nearly thirty countries around the world. The central characters, Bruno and Michel, were born to a bohemian mother (but they had different fathers, of course) at the height of the sixties. Following her inevitable divorce, they endured separate childhoods and developed distinct identities. Bruno--a failure to his own family and literary calling--is pursued by sexual obsession and madness. Michel--a wholly asexual molecular biologist--expresses his disgust with society by engineering one that frees mankind at last from its uncontrollable, destructive urges. An international phenomenon,The Elementary Particlesis a furiously important novel.

A poet and novelist, Michel Houellebecq is the author of one previous novel, <i>Whatever</i> (<i>Extension du domaine de la lutte</i>). His awards include the Grand prix national des lettres and, for <b>The Elementary Particles</b>, the Prix novembre. He lives in Ireland.