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Article: The possibility of an island, or, the double bind of Houellebecq's apocalypse: when the end is not the end/The possibility of an island: of, die dilemma van Houellebecq se apokalipse: wanneer die einde nie die einde is nie.
- Article from:
- Literator: Journal of Literary Criticism, comparative linguistics and literary studies
- Article date:
- August 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Literator Society of South Africa. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Abstract
The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that "The possibility of an island" (2005), the latest novel by the controversial French author Michel Houellebecq, utilises a variety of so-called marginal genres such as millennial, apocalyptic, Utopian writing and science fiction to question and to continue the millennial project he elaborated in "Atomised" (2001). The latter novel, first published in French in 1998, explores the idea of a new order that would gradually come into existence during the new millennium, namely that of a neo-humanity produced through cloning. In "The possibility of an island" this Utopian construction turns unequivocally into ...