Michel Houellebecq on Lovecraft
 

I've wanted to introduce a thread on this French writer for quite a long time now, and I've come across a review of one of his books that gave me the occasion I needed.

This book is Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life, that came out in an English translation in the US last January on Believer Books / McSweeney's .

I've read the original some years ago, and believe me or not, it was this that made me read Lovecraft in the first place... I had read some novels by Houellebecq before, thence my buying this book, and after reading what he wrote about HPL, I just had to see for myself, and I was hooked...

Some quotes from Houellebecq's essay (but is it only an essay, he calls it "his first novel" in fact):


"Life is painful and disappointing. It is useless, therefore to write new realistic novels. We generally know where we stand in relation to reality and don’t care to know any more."

"Absolute hatred of the world in general, aggravated by an aversion for the modern world in particular. This summarizes Lovecraft's attitude fairly accurately."

"Many authors have dedicated their work to elaborating the reasons for this legitimate aversion. Not Lovecraft. For him, hatred of life precedes all literature. He will remain steadfast in this regard. The rejection of all forms of realism is a preliminary condition for entering his universe."


Ligotti could have said that, don't you think?

The full review is here:
http://trashotron.com/agony/reviews/...-lovecraft.htm

A quick search through Amazon seems to indicate that some of his novels have been translated as well (Platform, The Elementary Particles), but I haven't found a trace of a translation of Extension du Domaine de la Lutte though, which would have been my first recommendation.

Re: Michel Houellebecq on Lovecraft
 

As Matt Cardin pointed out in his comprehensive essay "The Masters' Eyes Shining with Secrets", "Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life" is downloadable on the internet in english in PDF format. If anyone is interested here is the link:

P.S. That was a fantastic essay, Matt. As you can see, the information I obtained from it has never vanished from my memory!

Re: Michel Houellebecq on Lovecraft
 

Slawek,

I've given it a try, but it's a kind of lecture guide on The Elementary Particles, not the text of his essay on HPL...

But you're right, I should have read everything contained in Matt's essay (I'm ashamed to admit that I had missed his mentionning Houellebecq):oops:

Thanks to google, here is a link:

Re: Michel Houellebecq on Lovecraft
 

OOps! I must have copied a wrong address while writing the post. This is definitely a different Houellebecq ! :wink: :shock:

Re: Michel Houellebecq on Lovecraft
 

Matt's essay turned me on to Houellebecq's book on Lovecraft too. I was familiar with him from the reviews of his book Elementary Particles, but I didn't know about his interest in HPL. I ordered it from Amazon.com when it first came out. I have only read bits and pieces of it, but I've liked what I have read. I also read the introduction by Stephen King. His idea about "Lovecraft's pillow" would make for an interesting story.

Re: Michel Houellebecq on Lovecraft
 

This should be a link to the article as translated and published in British newspaper, The Guardian:

http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/s...497922,00.html

that's a really awesome article, Quentin. Loved the in depth analysis of Lovecraft's world.

Re: Michel Houellebecq on Lovecraft
 

Wow, ElHI, this man does sound interesting (Houellebecq.... hmmm, sounds more like some weird Catalan surname than French, though) you say there's an English translation of this book, but are there any translations of his fiction books? I speak some French, though, but I don't feel like ordering my books all that way through the Atlantic...

EDIT: By the way, ElHI, is that PDF link you posted the complete book or just a fragment of it. Amazon has 150 pages for the book, so it is kind of short...

Re: Michel Houellebecq on Lovecraft
 

Now we are in agreement with the fine people of Yog-Sothoth.com: We officially love this guy.

I'll have to check with my copy, if everything is here. But as it is stated that it's a "work in progress", my guess would be that it's not complete yet.

Re: Michel Houellebecq on Lovecraft
 

The translation available as a pdf file seems to be complete. It's only 38 pages, but in book form it should coincide with the 100+ pages of the original. I haven't read the English version in extenso, but everything seems to be there! It gave me a great opportunity to re-read it in French, and now I'm eager to read the latest Houellebecq's novel LA POSSIBILITE D'UNE ILE (Possibility of an Island) which should be out at the end of august in France.