239:, hence the title of the novel. Although the drug dulls his sex drive, Labrouste returns to Normandy in search of former lovers. While there, he visits an old college friend, Aymeric, a divorced and suicidal aristocratic landowner. At the climax of the novel, farmers equipped with assault rifles blockade a motorway. Aymeric is among them and shoots himself, sparking a clash with riot police in which 10 more people die.
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features its author's trademark black humour and depictions of loveless sex, and also touches on paedophilia (when the narrator spies on a suspicious German tourist) and bestiality (when he finds pornographic videos of his girlfriend on her computer). The overall mood is one of spiritual malaise and
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Later on, Labrouste begins secretly observing the love of his life, Camille, who has a son from another man. At first intending to shoot the child with one of
Aymeric's sniper rifles in order to win back her love, he finds himself unable to go through with it. Finally, Labrouste moves back to Paris,
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After watching a television documentary about people who choose to disappear from their life without telling anyone, Labrouste abruptly leaves his girlfriend, a young
Japanese woman who is highly sexual but devoid of affection, quits his job under a false pretence and flees to a chain hotel in
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was the best-selling fiction book in the week it was released. Within three days of its publication, it had sold 90,000 copies. The release was considered a national event, coming as it did the same month
Houellebecq was awarded the
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In short, what is taking place with French agriculture is a vast redundancy plan, but one that is secret and invisible, where people disappear one by one, on their plots of land, without ever being noticed.
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The novel depicts French farmers struggling to survive in the face of globalisation, agribusiness and
European Union policies. It foresaw many concerns of the
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The initial print run in France was 320,000 copies. German, Italian and
Spanish editions were published the same month. An English translation by
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to help promote French cheese. Sympathetic to the plight of local farmers, he is powerless to help them retain their traditional methods:
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The narrator, Florent-Claude
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which began protesting in France in late 2018. Written before protesters began blockading roads in real life,
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on 26 September 2019. Whiteside's translation was published in the United States by
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637:"'Ugliest' French town invites author Houellebecq to sample its 'happy' herb"
477:"'Vanquished white male': Houellebecq's new novel predicts French discontent"
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to
Houellebecq's publisher to cheer up the notoriously gloomy author.
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A doctor prescribes him an antidepressant to remedy his low levels of
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611:"How France's provocateur-in-chief became part of the establishment"
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contemplating committing suicide by jumping out of a window.
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295:was published in the United Kingdom by
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949:The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq
442:Zaretsky, Robert (5 January 2019).
377:Donadio, Rachel (13 January 2019).
609:Hussey, Andrew (16 January 2019).
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412:Sexton, David (10 January 2019).
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855:In the Presence of Schopenhauer
808:Configuration du dernier rivage
582:Nawotka, Ed (18 January 2019).
323:In response to the narrator of
501:Woods, Mike (2 January 2019).
203:) is a novel by French writer
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207:, published in January 2019.
980:Novels by Michel Houellebecq
749:The Possibility of an Island
16:Novel by Michel Houellebecq
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21:Serotonin (disambiguation)
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1020:Éditions Flammarion books
863:Quelques mois dans ma vie
757:The Map and the Territory
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301:Farrar, Straus and Giroux
126:Published in English
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922:The Elementary Particles
898:La Possibilité d'une île
232:another part of Paris.
19:Not to be confused with
1005:Novels set in the 2010s
906:To Stay Alive: A Method
281:the decline of the West
279:social fracture during
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990:French-language novels
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130:26 September 2019 (UK)
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617:. New Statesman Media
509:. France MĂ©dias Monde
303:on 19 November 2019.
253:yellow vests movement
561:Macmillan Publishers
1010:Novels set in Paris
1000:Fiction set in 2019
800:The Art of Struggle
358:. Groupe Flammarion
182:PQ2668.O77 S48 2019
56:Original title
40:First edition cover
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985:2019 French novels
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689:Michel Houellebecq
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590:. PWxyz LLC
567:18 November
556:"Serotonin"
540:18 November
529:"Serotonin"
507:RFI English
420:. ESI Media
311:In France,
287:Publication
974:Categories
822:monographs
820:Essays and
765:Submission
647:21 January
621:3 February
594:3 February
513:21 January
486:19 January
457:19 January
424:19 January
388:19 January
362:19 January
356:Flammarion
339:References
268:Submission
217:Tour Totem
200:SĂ©rotonine
90:Flammarion
68:Translator
61:SĂ©rotonine
773:Serotonin
733:Lanzarote
325:Serotonin
313:Serotonin
307:Reception
276:Serotonin
257:Serotonin
237:serotonin
190:Serotonin
86:Publisher
28:Serotonin
957:Thalasso
890:Atomised
882:Whatever
741:Platform
725:Atomised
717:Whatever
333:angelica
327:calling
262:Platform
221:Normandy
170:843/.914
92:(France)
78:Language
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909:(2016)
901:(2008)
893:(2006)
885:(1999)
866:(2023)
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834:(1991)
811:(2013)
803:(1996)
792:Poetry
784:(2022)
776:(2019)
768:(2015)
760:(2010)
752:(2005)
744:(2001)
736:(2000)
728:(1998)
720:(1994)
709:Novels
247:Themes
195:French
119:France
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81:French
46:Author
329:Niort
143:Pages
138:Print
649:2019
623:2019
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265:and
211:Plot
152:ISBN
146:352
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