Cal wrote:Just finished reading Michel Houellebecq's
Submission.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submission_(novel)
The novel, a political satire, imagines a situation in which a Muslim party upholding traditionalist and patriarchal values leads the 2022 vote in France and is able to form a government with the support of France's Islamo-Leftist Socialist Party. The book drew an unusual amount of attention because, by a macabre coincidence, it was released on the day of the Charlie Hebdo massacre.[7]
It's a good read, if short, with some fantastic writing, but it's also quite wordy and at times almost comically pretentious. What makes it interesting is the tone - not especially judgmental, not particularly political. There's a curious and attractive melancholy and a quietly doomed sense of inevitability about the whole thing. It's an imagined (near) future in which France becomes the first EU nation to be led by a muslim government. One might imagine this could lead to all sorts of cliched stereotyping, but Houellebecq holds back - his little observations are all the more impactful for their subtlety (and wit). Is it a warning?
Well worth a read, especially in the light of the Paris shootings.
Embarrassing fact: I didn't realise until halfway through the novel that the title 'Submission' is a literal meaning of the word 'Islam'.
Sounds interesting! Added it to my kindle 'wishlist'.
Planning on reading a lot more this year, as I really didn't read that much in my teens, or when I did it was all very similar.
Currently reading the Great Gatsby which I've been going through pretty quickly. Haven't seen the film which I think is good. Built up a strong list of things to read during the Christmas break, next is Slaughterhouse Five.