Product Description

Half-brothers Michel and Bruno have a mother in common but little else. Michel is a molecular biologist, a thinker and idealist, a man with no erotic life to speak of and little in the way of human society. Bruno, by contrast, is a libertine, though more in theory than in practice, his endless lust is all too rarely reciprocated. Both are symptomatic members of our atomised society, where religion has given way to shallow 'new age' philosophies and love to meaningless sexual connections. Atomised (Les Particules elementaires) tells the stories of the two brothers, but the real subject of the novel is in its dismantling of contemporary society and its assumptions, in its political incorrectness, and its caustic and penetrating asides on everything from anthropology to the problem pages of girls' magazines. A dissection of modern lives and loves. By turns funny, acid, infuriating, didactic, touching and visceral.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #95704 in Books
• Published on: 2001-03-01
• Original language: French
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Review
'Very moving, gloriously, extravagantly filthy and very funny', Independent .'Destined to become a cult book... a genuine page-turner', Observer .'A brave and rather magnificent book', Daily Telegraph

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

Customer Reviews

Mark Diamond's suspicions may be correct
...I picked up a copy at Heathrow before a flight to Boston, expecting to read a few pages while waiting for airline food and blissful oblivion. To my surprise, I couldn't put it down, and I was still reading as we touched down at Logan. I found myself wondering why I actually cared about these unattractive, depressing characters, and then I realized that it was because they represent the unattractive, depressing parts of me, of all of us. The book is deeply un-American in its view of what is important in life. It's stunning. Recommended, unless you're taking SSRIs or similar medication.

UPDATE: Just after submitting the above, I discovered the reason for the absence of reviews for "Atomised": the US publisher changed the name to "The Elementary Particles". Now I've always hated this habit - the original title was just fine, and there wasn't an existing "Atomised" to cause confusion - but I'm particularly annoyed that nothing on the Amazon pages for either title shows the relationship between the two. This is what hypertext is supposed to be to good for.....

Great and disturbing
Incidentally, I picked up a copy at Heathrow before a flight to Kathmandu, and finished it the same day. It left me a bit depressed for three days. To overcome this I thought I'd look for a book that might offer a different perspective on the central ideas of the story. I ran into Fritjof Capra's The Hidden Connections, which I feel is an excellent follow-up for anyone interested in a more theoretical approach to the subject.
For that matter: Atomised is a fitting title indeed, for it's the lack of connection that lies at the core of this excellent story.

read this book now!
After a convincing recommendation from a colleague, I read 'Atomised'. Within the first few pages I was blown away. Houellebecq's honest and raw narrative is astounding and truly memorable. Although disturbing and even, at times, depressing, this novel is indeed one to make you think. The relationship between Bruno and Michel is painful yet somehow refreshing, a break from the norm. 'Atomised' is definitely one to give a new perspective on life and I challenge you to want to put it down for any other reason that to wipe the tears away.