A review by guts_
Whatever by Michel Houellebecq

4.0

Whatever contains within it the raw materials that would later be refined in Houellebecq's later works, particularly themes regarding the emptiness of modern life and the alienation it imposes on its inhabitants. I could see most people hating this book particularly Houellebecq's diatribes regarding sex although I personally found them hilarious. In one monologue, the main character reflects on how sexual liberalism much like economic liberalism (free market capitalism) produces a state of absolute pauperization in which sex and capital are unequally accumulated resulting in social conditions in which
"...certain people accumulate considerable fortunes; others stagnate in unemployment and misery.". Likewise, "...certain people have a varied and exciting erotic life; others are reduced to masturbation and solitude.". Its sounds like a greentext from /r9k/ making it hard to believe this was published in 1994, well before Tindr. This is quintessential incelcore, it's more like 3.5 stars but I'll round it up considering its capacity to make me laugh out loud and feel depressed within the same page.