“We are probably wrong to suspect that each individual has some secret passion, some mystery, some weakness; if Jean-Yves's father had had to express his innermost convictions, the profound meaning he ascribed to life, he could probably have cited nothing more than a slight disappointment.” — Michel Houellebecq Copy Share
When we think about the present, we veer wildly between the belief in chance and the evidence in favour of determinism. When… — Michel Houellebecq Copy Share Image
“Few beings have ever been so impregnated, pierced to the core, by the conviction of the absolute futility of human aspiration. The… — Michel Houellebecq Copy Share Image
I think it's more difficult to live without a religion, definitely. — Michel Houellebecq Copy Share Image
I think that if writers don't speak about real life, it's because they don't know it. — Michel Houellebecq Copy Share Image
“In my life, I had known suffering, oppression, anxiety; I had never known boredom. I could see no objection to the endless, imbecile repetition… — Michel Houellebecq Copy Share Image
I admit that invective is one of my pleasures. This only brings me problems in life, but that's it. I attack, I insult. I… — Michel Houellebecq Copy Share Image
“... I spent whole afternoons at Bon Marché looking at pullovers, there was no sense in going on like that.” — Michel Houellebecq Copy Share Image
I've lived so little that I tend to imagine I'm not going to die; it seems improbable that human existence can be reduced to so little; one imagines, in spite of oneself, that sooner or later something is bound to happen. A big mistake. A life can just as well be both empty and short. The days slip by indifferently,… — Michel Houellebecq Copy Share
Rumor had it that he was homosexual; in reality, in recent years, he was simply a garden-variety alcoholic. — Michel Houellebecq Copy Share Image
“He doesn't know it yet, but the infinity of childhood is brief.” — Michel Houellebecq Copy Share Image
“Olga was nice, Olga was nice and loving, Olga loved him, he repeated to himself with a growing sadness as he also realised that nothing would ever happen between them again, life sometimes offers you a chance he thought, but when you are too cowardly or too indecisive to seize it life takes the cards away; there is a moment… — Michel Houellebecq Copy Share
“The problem is, it's just not enough to live according to the rules. Sure, you manage to live according to the rules. Sometimes it's tight, extremely tight, but on the whole you manage it. Your tax papers are up to date. Your bills paid on time. You never go out without your identity card (and the special little wallet for… — Michel Houellebecq Copy Share
“Life sometimes offers you a chance, he thought, but when you are too cowardly or too indecisive to seize it life takes the cards away; there is a moment for doing things and entering a possible happiness, and this moment lasts a few days, sometimes a few weeks or even a few months, but it happens once and one time… — Michel Houellebecq Copy Share
