WAS HOUELLEBECQ RIGHT?

When a controversial novelist forecast the Islamicisation of France he was mocked by the intelligentsia, yet his prediction was far from fanciful

Gavin Mortimer

THE DATE FOR THE PUBLICATION OF MICHEL Houellebecq’s sixth novel was 7 January 2015. The book’s title was Soumission (Submission), and rarely had pre-publication reviews for a book been so vitriolic. The French literary scene loathed the novel, which was set against the backdrop of the 2022 presidential election in which Marine Le Pen was forecast to triumph before centrist parties formed a coalition with an Islamist party, resulting in France’s first Muslim head of state. President Mohammed Ben Abbes immediately set about transforming the French Republic into an Islamic one. Libération described Soumission as “Islamophobic”, and a “low-budget political-fiction novel” that legitimised the far right. A literary review magazine called Houellebecq “irresponsible” and “opportunistic” and said it was hard to take the novel seriously. The most contemptuous review…

You're reading a preview of

The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, November 2024

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.