Overview

In Pathos, Poetry and Politics in Michel Houellebecq's fiction, Russell Williams examines the literary style of France's most notorious novelist. Houellebecq is frequently the focus of debate for his provocative comments about Islam and the decline of Western civilisation. This book refocuses attention on how such provocation is an integral part of the texture of his novels. Williams considers Houellebecq's writing about literature and outlines the key principles of the author's poetics, founded on an acute sensitivity to reading experience. He then explores Houellebecq's earliest poetry before mapping this poetic voice into his subsequent fiction, including Sérotonine (2019). Houellebecq's relationship with genre fiction and the crucial issue of the authorial persona that exists in and around his texts are also explored.

Full Product Details

Author:   Russell Williams
Publisher:   Brill
Imprint:   Brill
Volume:   437
Weight:   0.618kg
ISBN:  

9789004416895

ISBN 10:   9004416897
Pages:   300
Publication Date:   14 November 2019
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments References Introduction: Reading Michel Houellebecq  1 Critical Reception  2 Houellebecq’s Style  3 Intertextuality  4 Houellebecq and the Canon  5 Houellebecq and Contemporary Literature  6 Houellebecquian Sex  7 Houellebecq and Ideas 1 Houellebecq on Writing: ‘La participation émotive’  1 Prose, Poetry and the ‘Pathétique’  2 Houellebecq on Cohen  3 Houellebecq on Literature  4 Houellebecq’s Emotional Spectrum  5 The ‘Pathétique’ and the ‘Clinique’ 2 Houellebecq’s ‘méthode d’attaque brutale’: from Poetry to Prose  1 Writing as ‘méthode d’attaque brutale’: from Lovecraft to Houellebecq  2 ‘Le Baudelaire des supermarchés’  3 The ‘Clinique’ in Houellebecq’s Poems  4 The Ambiguous ‘Sentiment Océanique’  5 Themes, Images and Poetic Technique in Extension du domaine de la lutte  6 Houellebecq and Bathos  7 Extension du domaine de la lutte’s Poetic Prose 3 The ‘Poétique’ and the ‘Pathétique’ in Houellebecq’s Novels  1 Poetry in Houellebecq’s Prose: Les Particules élémentaires  2 Houellebecq and Pop Songs  3 Houellebecq’s Pathetic Prose  4 ‘Alternativement abrupte et douce’  5 Alexandrines  6 La Possibilité d’une île and Decomposition  7 Poetic Images in Houellebecq’s Prose  8 Houellebecq’s ‘refrains typiques’ 4 The Poetics and Politics of Genre  1 The roman policier: ‘une phrase sans sujet’  2 Houellebecq’s Novels: ‘la peur sentie comme atmosphère’  3 Pastiche of the roman policier?  4 Houellebecq and Agatha Christie  5 La Carte et le territoire or ‘Who Killed Michel Houellebecq?’  6 Houellebecq and roman policier Style  7 Dissatisfying Narrative Closure  8 Houellebecq and Genre Fiction  9 Uncreative Writing 5 Narrative Perspective in Houellebecq: ‘qui parle?’ and ‘qui voit?’  1 Genette on Narrative Focalization  2 Extension du domaine de la lutte: Challenging the Narrative ‘je’  3 Les Particules élémentaires: an Ambiguous Narrative Perspective  4 Plateforme: Aphorisms, Provocation, Ambiguous Framing  5 La Possibilité d’une île: Provocative Proximity  6 La Carte et le territoire – a Partial Portrait of the Author as an Old Man?  7 Soumission – a ‘Dog Whistle’ Novel? Conclusion: ‘Quelque chose en moi’ Bibliography Index

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Author Information

Russell Williams, Ph.D. (2016), University of London, is Assistant Professor at the American University of Paris. His research focuses on the contemporary French novel.

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