Lanzarote
By (Author) Michel Houellebecq
Translated by Frank Wynne
Vintage Publishing
Vintage
1st September 2004
3rd June 2004
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
Fiction in translation
843.92
Paperback
96
Width 129mm, Height 198mm, Spine 7mm
102g
Hedonism, extra-terrestrials and an exiled police inspector collide in this novel from the internationally bestselling author of Atomised and Submission Realising that his New Year is probably going to be a disaster, as usual, our narrator, on impulse, walks into a travel agency to book a week in the sun. Sensitive to his limited means and dislike of Muslim countries, the travel agent suggests an island full of 21st century hedonism, set in a bizarre lunar landscape - Lanzarote. On Lanzarote, one can meet some fascinating human specimens, notably Pam and Barbara - 'non-exclusive' German lesbians - who can give rise to some interesting combinations. Will they succeed in seducing Rudi, the police inspector from Luxembourg, currently living in exile in Brussels Or will he join the 'Azraelian' sect, as they prepare for humanity to be regenerated by extra-terrestrials As for our narrator, will he consider his week's holiday on the island a success
Reads like a dream * Time Out *
Tremendously enjoyable * Times Literary Supplement *
Houellebecq captures the spirit of the age better than any other novelist, or any social historian, writing today * Literary Review *
There is no other writer like him, at the moment, for wit, acuity or the transparent beauty of his prose. His themes are always big and bravely expounded * Spectator *
What Houellebecq has in abundance is an ability to turn commonplace events into high comedy-I enjoyed [Lanzarote] enormously * Sunday Telegraph *
A poet, essayist and novelist, Michel Houellebecq is the author of several novels including The Map and the Territory, Atomised, Platform and Whatever.