The Possibility of an Island
by Michel Houellebecq
Phoenix, $112
'The first 300 pages of The Possibility of an Island prove Michel Houellebecq is one of the best novelists writing today,' says writer Matt Thorne. But readers need only peruse the first 100 pages to understand the author's reputation. In previous books, Houellebecq provided provocative and savage commentary on women, sex and religion. Little has changed - despite his venturing into the genre of science fiction. Clones fill the pages of Island. The protagonists are Daniel1, who lives in the present, and facsimiles of himself thousands of years on. Daniel24, the 24th replica and a neo-human, leads an isolated life in a ravaged world. His closest companion is a cloned dog. The clones, however, want more of an understanding of their humanity. Although Houellebecq was reportedly paid an advance of Euro1 million ($9.6 million), reviewers were less than impressed by his output. 'Devotees of the old Houellebecq will have to wait for yet another book to see whether he will tire of ploughing the same furrow,' said The Independent, 'or whether this supremely talented writer really intends to become just a clone of himself.'