221:-type mother. Michel is raised by his paternal grandmother and becomes an introverted molecular biologist, who is ultimately responsible for the discoveries which lead to the elimination of sexual reproduction. Bruno's upbringing is much more tragic as described: shuffled and forgotten from one abusive boarding school to another, he eventually finds himself in a loveless marriage and teaching at a high school. Bruno grows into a lecherous and insatiable sex addict whose dalliances with prostitutes and sex chat on
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The novel sold hundreds of thousands of copies and propelled
Houellebecq into the French intellectual and literary spotlight during the summer and autumn of 1998. The vivid, almost pornographic, sexual descriptions were a frequent target of criticism, and Houellebecq himself attracted both scorn and
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Despite the essentially elaborate scope of the plot revealed in the novel's conclusion, the narrative focuses almost exclusively on the bleak and unrewarding day-to-day lives of the protagonists, two half-brothers who barely know each other. They seem devoid of love, and in their loveless or
300:, a rebuttal of his alleged mis-characterization of her parenting as contained in the novel. In press interviews, she promised that "if he has the misfortune of sticking my name on anything again he'll get my walking stick in his face and that'll knock his teeth out."
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saying on the consensus "No consensus. A fair amount of enthusiasm, though almost all are put off by some aspects of the book (the sex, the darkness, the writing, the characters). Many like what
Houellebecq is trying to do, fewer how he goes about it".
196:, while Michel's pioneering work in cloning removes love from the process of reproduction. Humans are proved, in the end, to be just particles and just as bodies decay (a theme in the book) they can also be created from particles.
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The story unfolds as a sort of framed narrative, so despite the events described therein having taken place mostly in 1999, the story is essentially set some fifty or so years in the future. A similar device was used by
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do nothing to satisfy him, to the point where he finds himself on disability leave from his job and in a mental hospital after a failed attempt at seducing one of his students.
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reported on reviews from several publications with a rating scale for the novel out of "Love It", "Pretty Good", "Ok", and "Rubbish":
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praise for his erratic proclamations and behaviour in television interviews and the like. The author was eventually awarded the
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163:, Michel and Bruno, and their mental struggles against their situations in modern society. It was translated into English by
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514:"'Les Particules élémentaires', sur France 2 : un requiem pour la masculinité d'après Michel Houellebecq"
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The story focuses on the lives of Bruno Clément and Michel
Djerzinski, two French half-brothers born of a
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In April 2008, Houellebecq's estranged mother, Lucie
Ceccaldi, returned to France to publish
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This article is about the novel by Michel
Houellebecq. For the film based on the book, see
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in recognition of the novel. He became the last one to get this prize under this name.
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soon-to-be loveless journeys, Bruno becomes a saddened
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487:"'I never left anybody. It was him that left me'"
385:"Le prix DĂ©cembre Ă©chappe Ă Victor-LĂ©vy Beaulieu"
752:H. P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life
318:and won the Silver Bear award. The German film
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559:International Dublin Literary Award recipient
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412:"Books of the moment: What the papers said"
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366:. It was broadcast on 31 January 2022.
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870:The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq
931:Novels about dysfunctional families
511:Sotinel, Thomas (31 January 2022).
485:Northedge, Charlotte (7 May 2008).
383:Fessou, Didier (10 November 2010).
177:International Dublin Literary Award
155:), is a novel by the French author
286:review under "Rubbish". Globally,
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906:French novels adapted into films
27:1998 novel by Michel Houellebecq
776:In the Presence of Schopenhauer
729:Configuration du dernier rivage
465:"Just in time for Mothers Day!"
463:Shirbon, Estelle (1 May 2008).
280:review under "Pretty Good" and
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911:French science fiction novels
348:produced the television film
916:Novels by Michel Houellebecq
670:The Possibility of an Island
274:reviews under "Love It" and
179:for writer and translator.
153:Les Particules élémentaires
71:Les Particules élémentaires
18:Les Particules élémentaires
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438:"The Elementary Particles"
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678:The Map and the Territory
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418:. 27 May 2000. p. 72
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843:The Elementary Particles
819:La Possibilité d'une île
351:The Elementary Particles
173:The Elementary Particles
144:The Elementary Particles
827:To Stay Alive: A Method
936:Novels about sexuality
354:which was directed by
175:in the US. It won the
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308:Further information:
926:Works about brothers
364:Jean-Charles Clichet
316:Berlin Film Festival
721:The Art of Struggle
416:The Daily Telegraph
253:The Daily Telegraph
67:Original title
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901:1998 French novels
763:(1998, 2009, 2020)
610:Michel Houellebecq
157:Michel Houellebecq
61:Michel Houellebecq
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566:Succeeded by
551:No Great Mischief
338:(Annabelle), and
320:Elementarteilchen
246:—and a new name:
171:in the UK and as
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109:Groupe Flammarion
16:(Redirected from
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760:Interventions
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324:Oskar Roehler
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621:Bibliography
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525:. Retrieved
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494:. Retrieved
491:The Guardian
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468:. Retrieved
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446:. Retrieved
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244:Pierre Bergé
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527:23 December
523:(in French)
271:Independent
194:individuate
165:Frank Wynne
81:Frank Wynne
895:Categories
743:monographs
741:Essays and
686:Submission
370:References
358:and stars
334:(Michel),
77:Translator
694:Serotonin
654:Lanzarote
496:9 January
470:9 January
448:4 October
390:La Presse
330:(Bruno),
229:Reception
207:Galápagos
105:Publisher
40:Atomised
878:Thalasso
811:Atomised
803:Whatever
662:Platform
646:Atomised
638:Whatever
520:Le Monde
346:France 2
277:Observer
265:Guardian
212:epilogue
169:Atomised
138:Atomised
87:Language
542:Awards
422:19 July
223:Minitel
881:(2019)
873:(2014)
865:(2009)
846:(2021)
838:(2018)
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822:(2008)
814:(2006)
806:(1999)
787:(2023)
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724:(1996)
713:Poetry
705:(2022)
697:(2019)
689:(2015)
681:(2010)
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649:(1998)
641:(1994)
630:Novels
396:31 May
268:, and
219:hippie
149:French
129:France
90:French
57:Author
563:2002
283:Times
190:loner
95:Genre
529:2022
498:2015
472:2015
450:2023
424:2024
398:2013
362:and
183:Plot
120:1998
167:as
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