"Hey, what's your problem?" "The milk of human kindness."


My name is popemark, and I am addicted to buying books. I can't walk past a bookstore without walking in, and I can't walk out of a bookstore without buying 2 or more books. On this trip to Ireland, I have been reading a ton, but I can not keep up with all the books I have already bought and that are sitting on my bedside table.
On the last week-long visit I had to Austin, I made what could have been a mistake and stopped in an airport Hudson Booksellers (I think it was in O'Hare, and I was at risk for completing the one book I took with me in my carry-on; God forbid I might be out of reading material! As it happened, I didn't actually complete that book I already had with me until I was back in Austin). Interestingly enough (to me), I think it is possible Ms Pope worked for some branch of Hudson when we were in Puerto Rico. Not sure. I have to follow up on that.

Anyway, the two books I bought in that desperate foray were The Historian and Whatever, by Michel Houellebecq. Both books turned out to be surprisingly good buys. I wrote about The Historian last week; today, I finished reading Whatever. I was under the misconception that this was a more recent novel of his, but was surprised to discover it had been written in 1998 and he has followed up on his early promise with several more books, all as compellingly interesting (based on published abstracts!) as his debut.

Serpent's Tail (the publisher) did not explicitly compare this novel to Camus, but the implicit connection leavened my interpretation of the novel as I was consuming it. His humor is spot-on, and the dread with which his characters face their unfathomably bleak conditions is, dare I say it, deliciously enjoyable. Click on Read More to see an example passage (and yes, the Title of this blog entry is from the book, as well...).

Obviously, I couldn't come up with anything to say, but I returned to my hotel deep in thought. It's a fact, I mused to myself, that in societies like ours, sex truly represents a second system of differentiation, completely independent of money; and as a system of differentiation it functions just as mercilessly. The effects of these two systems are, furthermore, strictly equivalent. Just like unrestrained economic liberalism, and for similar reasons, sexual liberalism produces phenomena of absolute pauperization. Some men make love every day; others five or six times in their life, or never. Some make love with dozens of women; others with none. It's what is known as the 'law of the market.' In an economic system where unfair dismissal is prohibited, every person more or less manages to find their place. In a sexual system where adultery is prohibited, every person more or less manages to find their bed mate. In a totally liberal economic system certain people accumulate considerable fortunes; others stagnate in unemployment and misery. In a totally liberal sexual system certain people have a varied and exciting erotic life; others are reduced to masturbation and solitude. Economic liberalism is an extension of the domain of the struggle, its extension to all ages and all classes of society. Sexual liberalism is likewise an extension of the domain of the struggle, its extension to all ages all classes of society. On the economic plane Raphaël Tisserand belongs in the victors' camp; on the sexual plane that of the vanquished. Certain people win on both levels; others lose on both. Businesses fight over certain young professionals; women fight over certain young men; men fight over certain young women; the trouble and strife are considerable.

Posted: Sun - November 4, 2007 at 08:20 PM        

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