&lt;i&gt;The possibility of an island&lt;/i&gt;; or, The double bind of Houellebecq’s apocalypse: when the end is not the end

E Snyman

doi:10.4102/lit.v29i2.114

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that “The possibility of an island” (2005), the latest novel by the controversial French author Michel Houellebecq, utilises a variety of so-called marginal genres such as millennial, apocalyptic, Utopian writing and science fiction to question and to continue the millennial project he elaborated in “Atomised” (2001). The latter novel, first published in French in 1998, explores the idea of a new order that would gradually come into existence during the new millennium, namely that of a neo-humanity produced through cloning. In “The possibility of an island” this Utopian construction turns unequivocally into a dystopia. This novel thus adds a double bind to the Apocalypse foreseen in “Atomised”: the end was not the end, but just the beginning of an intermediary phase.This analysis of Houellebecq’s novelistic techniques is based on theoretical descriptions of the genres on which the two novels draw, as well as narratological concepts formulated by Roland Barthes and Gérard Genette. The conclusion of the article points out that Houellebecq’s utilisation of marginal genres enables him to question contemporary civilisation and to investigate the consequences of scientific research on future generations.

Highlights

The possibility of an island, the controversial French author Michel Houellebecq’s latest novel, made its entry in 20051 onto a stormy literary stage
In “The possibility of an island” this Utopian construction turns unequivocally into a dystopia. This novel adds a double bind to the Apocalypse foreseen in “Atomised”: the end was not the end, but just the beginning of an intermediary phase.This analysis of Houellebecq’s novelistic techniques is based on theoretical descriptions of the genres on which the two novels draw, as well as narratological concepts formulated by Roland Barthes and Gérard Genette
This well-known French theoretician of literature cites Michel Houellebecq’s The possibility of an island (2005) as exemplary of the very relevant way in which, for instance, science fiction can reflect on contemporary society (Bessière, 2006:75-78), implying that this novel could be considered an important contribution to French literature

Summary

Introduction

The possibility of an island, the controversial French author Michel Houellebecq’s latest novel, made its entry in 20051 onto a stormy literary stage. (What happened to the French writers?) (2006), Bessière argues that the role of certain marginal forms of writing (like science-fiction, detective novels, works on the Shoah and on colonisation) is overlooked. He claims that these authors mediate in a much more “lucid” way the relationship between literature and reality than those who hope to continue the so-called canon of literature. This well-known French theoretician of literature cites Michel Houellebecq’s The possibility of an island (2005) as exemplary of the very relevant way in which, for instance, science fiction can reflect on contemporary society (Bessière, 2006:75-78), implying that this novel could be considered an important contribution to French literature. Our analysis of Houellebecq’s novelistic techniques is based on theoretical descriptions of these genres as well as narratological concepts formulated by Roland Barthes and Gérard Genette

Atomised and Houellebecq’s millennial project

The possibility of an island or the pharmakon of Houellebecq’s apocalypse11

Science fiction based on a combination of science and religion

Conclusion