The Possibility of an Island

by: Michel Houellebecq, translated by Gavin Bowd

Published by: Vintage International

Reviewed by Carrie Spellman

In the not so distant future, Daniel is living out the second half of what he considers an exercise in futility–and the rest of us consider life. Despite having been more than relatively successful as a comedian, Daniel is discontent. It has been his life work to observe humanity and its proclivities. As it turns out, Daniel isn’t a big fan of humanity.

At first his observations make for great, borderline subversive, comedy. Eventually Daniel becomes so disgusted by people that the simple act of laughter, of observing other people’s response to him, makes him physically ill. Attempting to resolve himself to the present, and find a way to carry on, Daniel may inadvertently aid in the demise of the world he recognizes.

In the very distant future Daniel 24, and eventually Daniel 25, genetic copies of the original Daniel (“Neo Humans”), live in a fortress of solitude. Their life’s work is to learn the life history of Daniel 1, consider it, dissect it, comment on it, and add their commentary to those of the previous Daniels. They are engineered to be devoid of feeling, but some ideas are hard to get rid of.

Daniel 1 is both an everyman and completely separate from it. He lives in a time where society has taken everything too far. Sex doesn’t just sell anymore, sex is power, and it’s not the men who have it. Youth is everything, so much so that when one is beyond the ability to appear young, existence seems futile. Love is virtually mythic. Science has advanced so far that people have almost ceased to be necessary. Disturbing ideas on their own, they are made more frightening when you realize that this is not a wholly inconceivable view of the future. As for what comes after, bleak doesn’t go far enough to describe it.

This is existentialism for our generation, and beyond.

While extremely interesting and thought provoking, I found this book to be somewhat inaccessible. The format is confusing at first, though not impossible. The language chosen is difficult and often overly technical, especially for an “everyman” character. Which, I suppose, both proves and desecrates its point.

Armchair Interviews says: Heed the reviewer’s comments to see if the book is right for you.

Author’s fan site (with English option): http://www.Houellebecq.info