The Map and the Territory
I've been checking off boxes lately. I've been hearing about Houellebecq for years (a grumpy old misanthrope who writes depressing novels, it seems), and I finally decided to read his books. I don't know the guy, but I didn't find his 2010 Goncourt prize depressing at all. In fact, it made me laugh.
Summary
Jed Martin is a very successful artist, but it's not clear why. He made a name for himself by photographing Michelin maps up close, which led him to meet his gorgeous girlfriend and become very rich. But he's not particularly happy, it's not even a feeling he seeks. In fact, if you know him well, you might find him passive, with a few spikes of creativity that seem to come from something outside of him.
When he meets Houellebecq, however, something about him comes alive (yes, Houellebecq the writer, who is also a character in his own novel). There is something about this talented, cynical and asocial author that intrigues him. He would even like, he admits to himself, to become his friend. Assuming that Houellebecq has the capacity to have friends.
Impressions
I understand why this book won the Goncourt prize, it's very meta. Not only is the author an important character in his own novel, but he does what Jed Martin does: he "maps" human life, so to speak. His novel contains something like 160 famous people, who together represent their time. Jed's works are basically his own. And I would have to analyze what Houellebecq's brutal death represents in the novel. But I won't do that, because it is obviously already done.
I really enjoyed my reading, without it taking my breath away neither. I didn't find it depressing at all, in fact Jed's apathy and loneliness made me laugh. I found Houellebecq talented, and clearly he knows it, which in itself doesn't bother me. One could certainly rack one's brains on the symbolism of the book, but one can very well do without it too because the book doesn't need that to be interesting.
But I feel like I don't really know Houellebecq. Apparently this book is one of his softer ones, and he has a habit of upsetting and shocking. I'm looking forward to seeing how he does that.
