Michel Houellebecq Atomised

Atomised is a remarkable novel in that it takes Foucaultian philosophy about modern society and the individual and examines it in the form of the fictional tale of 2 half brothers, before making an asessment about modern society/government's ultimate failure to do for humanity what it intended.

Bruno and Michel share the same mother, a hippy new-ager who leaves them with their respective fathers to pursue her own pleasures. Both end up growing up with paternal grandparents with wildly different results. Michel is a fairly well-liked youth with a beautiful girlfriend who finds that social connections bring him no pleasure and who lives for his scientific work. He studies biology from the perspective of the physicist and his life's work revolves around developing a way of ending genetic mutation.

Bruno is a fat, ugly boy who craves attention but is preyed upon by bullies and ignored by women. In contrast to Michel, he spends his adult life pursuing sexual pleasure to varying degrees of failure. He grows up to be a teacher who aspires to be a poet and writer. Occasionally the two boys/men meet and discuss philosophy, literature and religion.

The crux of the novel is the relationships each form with a different female and their response to moving from their solitary, "atomised" existances into being part of a social grouping. Houellebecq attempts to show that modern society's emphasis on the individual, on individual rights and freedoms is actually what has made modern man feel dispossessed and lonely and that ultimately in order to salvage society and provide happiness to humankind what we need is to find ways of connecting people.

It's an interesting book, funny and with loads of odd asides that emphasise the author's philosophical points and help define his Foucaultian universe. However, if you aren't steeped in postmodern literature, it's still a deeply moving tale with a rather bizarre ending.