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The Sad Oracle

By: Anton Jäger

His chronicles of liberal discontent have made Michel Houellebecq one of the most renowned writers of the century as well as a far-right prophet. Yet liberalism’s fiercest critic still hasn’t found his alternative future.

Michel Houellebecq gives a press conference after he receives the 2010 Prix Goncourt for his novel The Map and the Territory. (Photo by Dominique Charriau / WireImage)

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The year 2010 was a good one for Michel Houellebecq. As food riots broke out across North Africa and spread into southern Europe in November, his novel The Map and the Territory won the Prix Goncourt, the most prestigious of all French literary prizes. In the following months, his satire of the contemporary art world […]

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The year 2010 was a good one for Michel Houellebecq. As food riots broke out across North Africa and spread into southern Europe in November, his novel The Map and the Territory won the Prix Goncourt, the most prestigious of all French literary prizes. In the following months, his satire of the contemporary art world […]

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The year 2010 was a good one for Michel Houellebecq. As food riots broke out across North Africa and spread into southern Europe in November, his novel The Map and the Territory won the Prix Goncourt, the most prestigious of all French literary prizes. In the following months, his satire of the contemporary art world […]

The year 2010 was a good one for Michel Houellebecq. As food riots broke out across North Africa and spread into southern Europe in November, his novel The Map and the Territory won the Prix Goncourt, the most prestigious of all French literary prizes. In the following months, his satire of the contemporary art world […]

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