A review by freewaygods
Platform by Michel Houellebecq

dark sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

I understand why this book is controversial. The narrator and his beliefs and way of viewing the world are revolting, but at its core Houellebecq does manage to distill the rot at the heart of our global capitalist hellworld. 
We have created a system in which it has simply become impossible to live, and what’s more, we continue to export it. 
The complete capture of sexual relations by the logic of the market, while distilled and expressed in problematic ways in this novel, is essentially a horrifying result of capital’s global hegemony.  The inevitable reaction the author predicted in the Islamic world against the incursion of this hegemonic logic, while tinged with Islamophobia, was prescient. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings