Customer Reviews

Platform

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A small conceit of the English translation of Michel Houellebecq's PLATFORM is that certain words and phrases the author originally used in English are boldfaced, presumably so that readers will know that they carried a sort of extra Anglo-Saxon punch in the original text. However, the boldfaced words also recall the talent of Frank Wynne, Houellebecq's translator. I mention these words because I otherwise might not have remembered that I was reading a translated text, so clearly and accurately has Wynne rendered the author's unmistakable, inimitable voice.

With that said, this is not a voice all readers will appreciate. Protagonist and first-person narrator Michel Renault lives a small, sour existence as a middle-aged, middle-management civil servant. His Paris contains no romance and less contentment, and so he travels --- but his coldly assessing eye hardly allows him to enjoy his journeys or his arrivals. Sex in a variety of forms preoccupies him, and it is through sexual experiences that he seems to at least feel alive. While the women on his tour mainly disgust him (the young and nubile he deems "sluts"; the older and more aware he derides in various ways), women whom he can pay for sex receive the small bits of appreciation he can muster.

Still, it is a fellow tour group member, Valérie, with whom Michel connects when back in Paris. Michel, whose barely restrained anger towards his recently dead father once prevented him from pairing off with anyone besides his own hand, finds Valérie's combination of submissive generosity and high-paying job as a tourism executive irresistible. Their relationship brings him so much contentment that his boss comments that he seems happy. Despite their calm domestic bliss, the pair (both of whom seem quite addicted to orgasm) soon finds themselves drawn to more and more extreme erotic adventures.

Most of the time, PLATFORM seems more like one for Houellebecq's extreme yet articulate views than it does a novel --- yet his frozen-eyed comments on capitalism, religion, and gender politics are uncomfortably close to the secret thoughts so many people have. When Michel and Valérie devise a plan to turn her company's tours into sex holidays, they return together to the Thailand where he once experienced the zipless pleasures of a remarkably sanitary sex worker...For a moment, it seems that everyone will be happy, even Valérie's dour boss, Jean-Yves (given his straitlaced viewpoint, Houellebecq seems to say that it's no wonder his wife moonlights as a dominatrix). But alas, an early discussion Michel has with his father's housekeeper-mistress, whose Muslim honor avenged resulted in Renault pére's murder, presages the tragic end of the resort community and Michel's brief personal paradise. That this paradise is based on Western woman's supposed boredom with the all-too-familiar sex-for-love equation and the purported eagerness of Eastern woman to trade sex for the simple things (groceries, reliability, good manners) makes Houellebecq's Utopia terribly disturbing --- and terribly thought-provoking.

--- Reviewed by Bethanne Kelly Patrick

Those of you who are interested in European discourse will remember the crusade on author of this book two years ago, which culminated in whole dossier published in Finkelkraut's European Messenger in which leading pens of Euro culture raised their voices trying to intelectually subdue this book and statements presented in it.
Inraged cries of every religious community out there, from islam to christianity ensured the succes to this book.
We are witnesses of methods of mass media so one should always look with scepticism too all kind of fusses that are raised towards todays literature. But this book really deserved it. And that, believe it or not is a good thing to literature.
Ever since the begining of time, writer was supposed to shock community, from Boccacio's Decameron to Flaubert's Madame Bovary. Sluggishnes of thought and slowness of mind that dominated Europe are finaly broken with this book.
Every concept out there is driven trough, you may almost call it Occham's razor, deconstructig society in general, not willing to admit any kind of supremacy to culture or historicism author tries to present the new world which even in today's democracy (whatever that means) stands out as twisted and pervert....At least to majority of people.
Read this book... It is a begginig of a new epoch....

Platform is probably the best of Houellebecq's novels (the somewhat daft ending of 'Atomised' spoiled it for me). Houellebecq is one of the best writers living today. Next to his novels, most others just seem weak in comparison, beating around the bush, never really getting to grips with what we might call real life. Houllebecq tells it as it is; he does not mess about. He writes frankly about the things that really matter, the issues that really concern us, with acute and often brutal incisiveness. A common criticism of Houellebecq is that he digresses too much from the plot and frequently goes off on tangents, weaving philosophies and observations on life in general into the narrative. I would say that this is one of his greatest strengths. The beauty of novels is that this kind of digression is possible, whereas in a movie script, for example, it is not. It enriches the novel - it gives it depth. Anyone who has seen the film 'Whatever' as well as reading the book will know that as good as the film is, it could never have contained all the hilarious observations and incisive social commentary that the book does.

Platform is not for everyone  it is a rigorous philosophical novel and its meditations on alienation, religion, and the commodification of sex in late-period capitalism will probably bore some and offend others with its graphic, some would say degrading, depictions of sex, the attitudes expressed by some of the characters, and the anti-Islamic beliefs that some critics have ascribed to author Michel Houellebecq.

As a writer, Houellebecq appears to be equally at ease in describing the action in Thai massage parlors and French boardrooms. He has some fundamental insights and pursues them with an unstinting through the novel, and whether in the end one agrees or finds them persuasive or not, it must be granted that he is putting more on the table than the vast majority of contemporary novelists. If I had any criticism or disappointment with the writing, it is that the sex in the novel is essentially pornographic  it is a fantasy ideal where nothing ever goes awry  but then perhaps in a novel directed at an alienated Western audience, that is the point.

With respect to Islam, Houellebecq has some hard things to say, but this should be viewed is in the context of a more general critique of the desert religions (as one of his characters calls them) and their rigorous codes of sex and death. If, as one reviewer noted, there is a plea for Catholicism, my impression is that this is more a plea for catholicism with a lower case c. Houellebecq argues through his main protagonist that Catholicism is to be preferred to Judaism, Islam, or Protestantism in the specific sense its very lack of rigor makes it a more tolerant and accepting, and ultimately humane, faith. I interpret this as less promoting Roman Catholicism as a religion than upholding the values of tolerance and acceptance. Houellebecq seems comfortable with Buddhism  there is a reason that much of the novel takes place in Thailand. Islam comes into his line of fire precisely because of the Abrahamic religions, it is the one of which today some of its adherents have had greatest difficulty with the transition to modernity, manifested in the intolerance depicted in the novel.

Which brings me to the ending. Not to give away the plot, but it is frankly hard to read the novel without the Bali bombing echoing in ones head, reinforcing the emotional impact of this interesting, difficult novel.

Michel Houllebecq's Platform is a provocative, memorable and ambitious work that is absolutely cutting and acerbic in its tone and content. The lead protagonist is so beautifully drawn, and such a well-rounded, multi-dimensional character that the reader is just left reeling in awe at Houllebecq's skill in creating him. Michel, disaffected, detached and very cynical - eking out an existence of prepackaged pleasure on TV dinners, hollow friendships and porn - goes on a package tour of Thailand where he meets Valerie, a fellow, sexually free French girl. Both are sexually rapacious and predatory, so back in France they hook up, and together with her boss Jean Yves, they devise a scheme to develop a network of "sex Tourism" resorts to save their ailing travel company.

As the novel progresses Houllebecq charts Michel's growth, sexual responsiveness and "humanization" with a fierce awareness. This is an astute character study, where we witness a forty year old, lonely, and somewhat raffish individual being reborn and, in effect, being "humanized." Michel himself admits that his life with Valerie has radically changed him and that he is absolutely blessed and he feels fortunate at having been given a "second chance" at his age. The final part of this novel is absolutely shocking in its content, as Michel and Valerie suffer the effects of a devastating Islamic terrorist attack on their resort. In graphic detail the attack mirrors in many ways the recent Bali bombing, which is also kind of interesting.

This book isn't for everyone; some of the moralists may be put off by the startling and raw sexuality, but I think that the book is raising some serious questions about the way the West views sex, and also the way that sexuality has become a marketable, economic commodity. Bangkok 8 also raised these issues, but I think Platform does this much more successfully, because it goes further and postulates on a future where both women and men have given up on looking for romance and are so busy with their professional lives that they will increasingly seek to pay for sex in third world counties. Houllebecq proposes a grim bleak future as people from the moneyed; hard working, market driven and capitalist West will be unable to relate to one another sexually or in any other way, and will increasingly turn to populations from countries like Thailand in the search for physical and emotional intimacy. Sex is a product that can be exchanged for a price, and devoid of morality, it inevitably becomes just like other Western products.

I don't think Platform is particularly ant-Muslim, but I do think it is raising some series issues about the Islamic faith, and the religion's attitudes to matters of sexuality. This is not one of my favorite books of the year, yet it certainly deserves some attention, and Houllebecq should certainly be commended for tackling these issues with such honesty and candor. I will definitely look forward to reading more of his work.

Michael

With "Platform", Michel Houellebecq has disproved the adage that you can't follow up a groundbreaking debut with something even better. If truth be told, I thought "Atomised" was original but wildly overpraised, but when I finished "Platform", it felt like a train had run through me. I was floored by its power, vision and courage. Unlike many books which peter out after a promising start, "Platform" gets better with each page and ends on a shattering climax and a devastating afternote.

Like "Atomised", the author speaks directly to us through the voice of the novel's protagonist (also named Michel), so you'd be forgiven for simply assuming that it's Michel Houellebecq himself who is telling the story. This perspective is reinforced by the author's unique trademark of making political and social commentary an integral part of the novel's plot. So when critics lambast Michel (the character) for being racist, anti-Islamic and all the rest of it, it's hard to escape levelling these same charges against the author.

But while it's tempting though surely missing the point to dismiss much of "Platform" as a diatribe against the lurid excesses of third world sex tourism, the madness of terrorism, etc, it isn't difficult to locate the tongue-in-cheek yet bitter irony in Houellebecq's view of the 21st century world. The pimps and whores of the third world regard the sex trade as a means of survival, and that's alright because everybody has a right to live, their customers - mostly pathetic human specimens in need of getting themselves a life like the early Michel and his failed bureaucrat friends - are driven to such levels of depravity and despair by their own society which makes gratification of their primal sex urge such a complicated and unattainable affair. So the graphic sex scenes featuring Michel, his bisexual girlfriend Valerie and many anonymous others in twosomes or threesomes are funny, absurd, sexy, yet strangely touching. Houellebecq has elevated sex to hyperbole in "Platform" to suggest that Western society may have dug its own grave on the subject of sex from playing too many mind games. Hence the need to "Look East" to rediscover their lost but false paradise.

Houellebecq's narrative voice can be distancing and alienating, especially when he's being cryptic during his periodic lapses into commentary, so the really big surprise is that by the end of the story, he has transformed Michel into a real human being and against our better judgement, we begin to feel for him and even find ourselves hurting badly over his loss.

"Platform", Houellebecq's sophomore effort is not only vastly superior to "Atomised", it is a truly great novel. I am tempted to call it a masterpiece. There aren't too many novels this powerful, daring and courageous. Don't miss it !

Film critic Pauline Kael used to refer to a certain category of 1960s film (such as LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD and LA DOLCE VITA) as the "Come Dressed as the Sick Soul of Europe" party. PLATFORM by Michel Houellebecq would certainly get its author an engraved invitation.

There's a lot more going on here than meets the eye. Ostensibly, it is a novel about European tourism in developing countries, particularly Thailand and Cuba. The narrator, Michel, is a civil servant charged with the responsibility of mounting cultural exhibitions. On a tour to Thailand, he meets the shy but lovely Valerie and dreams about her while having casual sex in massage establishments enroute.

When he returns to France, he meets up with Valerie again and a very physical relationship ensues that seems to belie Valerie's earlier shyness. He also meets up with Valerie's boss, Jean-Yves, who is an international resort executive whose marriage is on the rocks. All three decide to visit a resort in Cuba which has been underperforming to try to find a way to turn it around. It is Michel who comes up with the idea of turning it, and many other resorts, into (in effect) brothels.

One of the aspects of the novel I found most interesting is its description of violent crime in the banlieus of Paris -- at a level which would shock many Americans. Michel finds a certain innocence in the developing world that constrasts sharply with the played-out European landscape in which relationships are impossible, children become violent hoodlums, and the birth rate is dropping into the red zone.

Michel's idea is well received by the resort chain and immediately put into action. The three now go to Thailand (again) to set up a prototype. Everything goes swimmingly -- until something happens that sinks forever any notion of the developing world's innocence. I will not divulge the ending here, but suffice it to say that it came as a shocker!

Houellebecq was recommended to me by an American friend who lives part of the year in the Montreuil section of Paris. He took up with the author because he found that it is written in a simple French that is easy for a non-Frenchman to understand. Be warned, however, that this is a sexually graphic novel which might put off some readers. It didn't put me off; and I look forward to reading his other work.

Houellebecq is a novelist of ideas - most of them assertive, dogmatic, and nihilistically bleak in the tradition of Nietzsche and Celine. With his previous novel, 'The Elementary Particles,' he portrayed through the travails of two half brothers the alienation and loneliness at the heart of many lives in Western Europe. Platform, with its single narrator, does the same, although this time I found the book rather pointless.

The narrator, Michel, is basically a man who is against the world. At the start of the novel, his father is murdered and he feels no remorse. With his inheritance money, he goes off to Thailand to experience sex tourism. He despises his fellow tourists, the John Grisham novels he reads (and ejaculates into), Muslims, most women, the West and most especially, himself. He spends most of his time in massage parlours being fulfilled by beautiful Thai whores.

On his return to France, he hooks up with Valerie, a beautiful companion from his trip and they embark on a passionate affair. Valerie is a curiously one dimensional character - beautiful, sexually prolific (not only does she engage in threesomes, she instigates them), considerate to Michel's needs, a corporate high flyer yet docile towards Michel. Her character appears to be a structural device to ensure that the narrator, for a time at least, can experience happiness.

Can it last? Of course not, this is a Houellebecq novel. Valerie and her business associate Jean Yves return to Thailand to set up a sex tourisim venture, and the whole novel ends in such cataclysmic tragedy that you read the final pages in a state going almost beyond despair.

Read Houellebecq by all means, he is a powerful writer who puts his finger on many of the weaknesses, the flaws and the hypocricies prevalent in western culture. But afterwards, think to yourself - are things really this bad? Is sex exactly as he portrays it? Are people so limited and selfish? Is long term love really impossible? Are human relations doomed? If you keep your critical distance, Houellebecq's novels won't have the doom laden, soothsayer approach that this one in particular seems to instigate.

This was one of most enjoyable books I have ever read, I plowed through it in just over a day last week; I simply couldn't put it down. Sitting on a flight reading Platform, I kept laughing out loud and interrupting my girlfriend, obliging her to read passages which were so good I just had to share them with someone. I'm not going to pretend to be able to shed too much light on the story's deeper meanings - if there are any - I would just say that Platform is a shocking and thoroughly entertaining look at the world through the eyes of a complete cynic and utter dead beat. Kind of like the movie Train Spotting, only without much of the feel-good factor. You probably won't enjoy this book if you are very sensitive or are easily prone to believing the worst about people and the world - if these are character traits of yours, this book will just depress you; better to leave it alone. Same thing if you're not comfortable with graphic sexual content. I will definitely be reading Mr. H's other books.

There are enough droll, incisive, hilarious observations about the sickening ironies of corporate culture and the pursuit of happiness in this book to make for a wickedly funny essay. However, the plot of the book is quite simply so unengaging, its premise so preposterous, and the characters so unidimensional, that reading it became a daily slog.
I still do not have in my mind's eye a picture of just who Valerie is, nor do I care about Jaques-Yves (or whatever his name is) for a moment. Perhaps Michel is attempting to portray the equilibrium (or lack thereof) of sexuality in the first world, but his method is tedious, uninvolving, and incredibly unconvincing.
Yet, any book with passages such as: "Happiness is a delicate thing," he announced in a sententious voice. "'It is difficult to find within ourselves, and impossible to find elsewhere.' If you reversed the words 'difficult' and 'impossible' you'd probably have been closer to the truth."
...has some wisdom in it.