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Article: A World Without Laughter; Houellebecq sees a future of clones and hedonists.(The Possibilite d'une ile = The Possibility of an Island)(Book Review)
- Article from:
- Newsweek International
- Article date:
- October 17, 2005
- Author:
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Byline: Eric Pape
In the future there will be no sex, intimacy or love. Desire and passion will endure only in the typed word. Forget about laughter and tears. People no longer will be humans, but rather "neo-human" clones, looking back on their originators' past trying to understand all that has been lost.
That's the grim future envisioned by French literary provocateur Michel Houellebecq in his latest novel "The Possibilite d'une ile" ("The Possibility of an Island", in French. 485 pages. Fayard) and judging by the initial French sales, it's a world that hundreds of thousands of French readers find convincing. The book contains elements that have ...