“Anything can happen in life, especially nothing.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“Not having anything around to read is dangerous: you have to content yourself with life itself, and that can lead you to take risks.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“It is in our relations with other people that we gain a sense of ourselves; it's that, pretty much, that makes relations with other people unbearable.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“People are suspicious of single men on vacation, after they get to a certain age: they assume that they're selfish, and probably a bit pervy. I can't say they're wrong. ”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“În viaţă se poate întâmpla orice, şi mai ales nimic.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“What about you, Michel, what are you going to do here?'
The response closest to the truth was probably something like 'Nothing'; but it's always difficult to explain that kind of thing to an active person.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“...за мен културата винаги е била необходима компенсация за нещастието в живота ни.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“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, quote from Platform
“In my life, I had known suffering, oppression, anxiety; I had never known boredom. I could see no objection to the endless, imbecile repetition of sameness.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“Of course, we can distinguish between males and females; we can also, if we choose, distinguish between different age categories; but any more advanced distinction comes close to pedantry, probably a result of boredom. A creature that is bored elaborates distinctions and hierarchies. According to Hutchinson and Rawlins, the development of systems of hierarchical dominance within animal societies does not correspond to any practical necessity, nor to any selective advantage; it simply constitutes a means of combating the crushing boredom of life in the heart of nature.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“I was lucky to meet you, yes.'
'Me too . . .' she said, looking me in the eyes. 'I was lucky too. The men I know are a disaster, not one of them believes in love; so they give you this big spiel about friendship, affection, a whole load of stuff that doesn't commit them to anything. I've got to the point where I can't stand the word 'friendship' any more, it makes me physically sick. Or there's the other lot, the ones who get married, who get hitched as early as possible and think about nothing but their careers afterwards. You obviously weren't one of those; but I also immediately sensed that you would never talk to me about friendship, that you would never be that vulgar. From the very beginning I hoped we would sleep together, that something important would happen; but it was possible that nothing would happen, in fact it was more than likely.' She stopped and sighed in irritation.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“Del amor me cuesta hablar. Ahora estoy seguro de que Valérie fue una radiante excepción. Se contaba entre esos seres capaces de dedicar su vida a la felicidad de otra persona, de convertir esa felicidad en su objetivo. Es un fenómeno misterioso. Entraña la dicha, la sencillez y la alegría; pero sigo sin saber por qué o cómo se produce. Y si no he entendido el amor, ¿de qué me serviría entender todo lo demás?”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“I continued to wonder what exactly I had done to deserve a woman like Valerie. Nothing, probably. I observe the world as it unfurls, I thought; proceeding empirically, in good faith, I observe it; I can do no more than observe.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“Neindoielnic omul nu e facut pentru fericire, ca sa aiba intr-adevar posibilitatea practica de a fi fericit omul ar trebui sa se transforme, sa se transforme fizic. Cu ce poate fi comparat Dumnzeu? Mai intai, evident, cu sexul femeilor; dar si, poate, cu aburii dintr-o baie turceasca. Oricum, cu ceva care sa faca spiritul posibil cand trupul exulta de bucurie si de placere, iar orice teama e abolita. Acum sunt sigur ca spiritul inca nu s-a nascut, ca vrea sa se nasca si ca nasterea lui va fi dificila, ca deocamdata avem despre el doar o idee trunchiata si nociva.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“Oferecer o corpo como objeto agradavável, dar gratuitamente prazer: é isso o que os ocidentais não sabem mais fazer. Perderam totalmente o senso da doação. Podem até se esforçar, mas não conseguem mais sentir o sexo como algo natural. Não apenas têm vergonha dos próprios corpos, que não estão à altura dos que vemos nos filmes pornôs, mas também, pelo mesmo motivo, não sentem nenhuma atração pelo corpo do outro. É impossivel fazer amor sem um certo abandono, sem a aceitação ao mesmo tempo temporária de um certo estado de dependência e fraqueza. A exaltação sentimental e a obsessão sexual têm a mesma origem, as duas nascem de um certo esquecimento de si mesmo; neste terreno, a gente não pode se realizar sem se perder. As pessoas se tornam frias, racionais, extremamente conscientes da sua existência individual e dos seus direitos (...) realmente não são as condições ideais para fazer amor".”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“Men live alongside one another like cattle; it is a miracle if once in a while they manage to share a bottle of booze.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“Gdy przejechaliśmy dwa kilometry, dotarło do mnie, że tym razem już naprawdę nie mam nic do czytania; do końca wycieczki będę musiał przeżyć bez absolutnie żadnego tekstu drukowanego, którym bym się mógł odizolować. Rozejrzałem się dookoła, serce zaczęło mi szybciej bić, świat zewnętrzny wydał mi się nagle o wiele bliższy.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“A source of permanent, accessible pleasure, our genitals exist. The god who created our misfortune, who made us short-lived, vain and cruel, has also provided this form of meagre compensation. If we couldn't have sex from time to time, what would life be? A futile struggle against joints that stiffen, caries that form. All of which, moreover, is as uninteresting as humanly possible - the collagen which makes muscles stiffen, the appearance of microbic cavities in the gums.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“As I finished my rice, I sketched out the plot of a pornographic adventure film called The Massage Room. Sirien, a young girl from northern Thailand, falls hopelessly in love with Bob, an American student who winds up in the massage parlor by accident, dragged there by his buddies after a fatefully boozy evening. Bob doesn't touch her, he's happy just to look at her with his lovely, pale-blue eyes and tell her about his hometown - in North Carolina, or somewhere like that. They see each other several more times, whenever Sirien isn't working, but, sadly, Bob must leave to finish his senior year at Yale. Ellipsis. Sirien waits expectantly while continuing to satisfy the needs of her numerous clients. Though pure at heart, she fervently jerks off and sucks paunchy, mustached Frenchmen (supporting role for Gerard Jugnot), corpulent, bald Germans (supporting role for some German actor). Finally, Bob returns and tries to free her from her hell - but the Chinese mafia doesn't see things in quite the same light. Bob persuades the American ambassador and the president of some humanitarian organization opposed to the exploitation of young girls to intervene (supporting role for Jane Fonda). What with the Chinese mafia (hint at the Triads) and the collusion of Thai generals (political angle, appeal to democratic values), there would be a lot of fight scenes and chase sequences through the streets of Bangkok. At the end of the day, Bob carries her off. But in the penultimate scene, Sirien gives, for the first time, an honest account of the extent of her sexual experience. All the cocks she has sucked as a humble massage parlor employee, she has sucked in the anticipation, in the hope of sucking Bob's cock, into which all the others were subsumed - well, I'd have to work on the dialogue. Cross fade between the two rivers (the Chao Phraya, the Delaware). Closing credits. For the European market, I already had line in mind, along the lines of "If you liked The Music Room, you'll love The Massage Room.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“A cockroach appeared just as I was about to get into the bath. It was just the right time for a cockroach to make an appearance in my life; couldn't have been better. It scuttled quickly across the porcelain, the little bugger; I looked around for a slipper, but actually I knew my chances of squashing him were small. What was the point in trying? And what good was Oon, in spite of her marvellously elastic vagina? We were already doomed. Cockroaches copulate gracelessly, with no apparent pleasure; but they also do it repeatedly and their genetic mutations are rapid and efficient. There is absolutely nothing we can do about cockroaches.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“În afara actului sexual, sunt puţine clipe în viaţă când trupul exultă de simpla bucurie de a trăi, când se umple de bucurie prin simplul fapt al prezenţei sale în lume. Ziua de întâi ianuarie a fost plină de asemenea clipe. Păstrez doar amintirea acelei plenitudini, nimic altceva. Probabil c-am înotat, ne-am încălzit la soare şi-am făcut dragoste. Nu cred să fi vorbit ori să ne fi plimbat pe insulă. Îmi amintesc mirosul pe care-l avea Valérie, gustul sării ce i se usca pe sex. Îmi amintesc c-am adormit în ea, şi c-am fost trezit de contracţiile vaginului ei.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“Este o senzaţie stranie: să simţi cum viaţa ţi se schimbă total; e suficient să stai pe loc, să nu faci nimic, să percepi senzaţia de schimbare.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“Cand iubirea a disparut, viata devine oarecum conventionala si silnica; pastrezi o forma umana, comportamentele obisnuite, un soi de structura, dar sufletul, cum se spune, e gol.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“Spre deosebire de alte popoare asiatice, tailandezii nu cred în fantome şi manifestă puţin interes pentru soarta cadavrelor. Cele mai multe sunt duse direct la groapa comună. Cum nu voi lăsa instrucţiuni precise, la fel se va-ntâmpla şi cu mine. Cineva, foarte departe, în Franţa, va completa un act de deces, va bifa o căsuţă într-un formular de stare civilă. Câţiva vânzători ambulanţi obişnuiţi să mă vadă prin cartier vor clătina din cap. Camera mea va fi închiriată altui călător. Apoi mă vor uita, mă vor uita repede...”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“Se pare că alte fiinţe umane aparent asemănătoare cu mine nu simt nicio emoţie în faţa unui trup de femeie, ceea ce mie îmi provoca şi încă îmi provoacă uneori transe irepresibile. În cele mai multe împrejurări ale vieţii mele am fost aproape la fel de liber ca un aspirator.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“That's precisely what's so extraordinary about you, you enjoy giving pleasure. Offering your body as an object of pleasure, giving pleasure unselfishly: that's what Westerners don't know how to do any more. They've completely lost the sense of giving. Try as they might, they no longer feel sex as something natural. Not only are they ashamed of their own bodies, which aren't up to porn standards, but for the same reasons they no longer feel truly attracted to the body of the other. It's impossible to make love without a certain abandon, without accepting, at least temporarily, the state of being in a state of dependency, of weakness. Sentimental adulation and sexual obsession have the same roots, both proceed from some degree of selflessness; it's not a domain in which you can find fulfilment without losing yourself. We have become cold, rational, acutely conscious of our individual existence and our rights; more than anything, we want to avoid alienation and dependence; on top of that we're obsessed with health and hygiene: these are hardly ideal conditions in which to make love.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“Innostukseni pilluihin ei ole heikentynyt, koen sen yhdeksi viimeisiä tunnistettavia inhimillisiä piirteitäni, muista en ole niinkään varma.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“Elämä ilman lukemista on vaarallista, silloin on pakko tyytyä elämiseen ja siinä on omat riskinsä.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
“Ihmistä voi arvostella monestakin syystä, mutta yhtä asiaa häneltä ei voi riistää: hän on kiistatta nerokas nisäkäs.”
― Michel Houellebecq, quote from Platform
Michel Houellebecq
Born place: in Saint-Pierre (La Réunion), France
Born date February 26, 1958
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