France's most-read author, and arguably its most provocative, is celebrating his birthday, even if no one really knows exactly what year he was born. What is not ambiguous is how his work mixes with his life.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Roessler
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French writer Michel Houellebecq at 60 — or 62
He made his breakthrough with the provocative novel "Atomised." But as his artistic photos show, writing isn't the only obsession of scandalous French author Michel Houellebecq.
Image: Imago/El Mundo
The provocateur
Smoking is just one of his numerous obsessions, says Michel Houellebecq. His first collection of poems "La Poursuite du Bonheur" ("The Pursuit of Happiness") was published in 1991. His 1994 debut novel, "Extension du domaine de la lutte," published as "Whatever" in English, marked his breakthrough in the French literary scene.
Image: Imago/El Mundo
Looking into the abyss
His poems and novels often have morbid undertones, highlighting social ruptures and voids. The same holds true for his photographic work, where beauty and truth is accompanied by dangers and abysses, such as in this photo, entitled "Espagne #005."
Image: Michel Houellebecq/Courtesy Air de Paris
His view of France
A 2016 exhibition in the Parisian Palais de Tokyo present a series of Houellebecq's photos, all simply entitled "France." Featured above is a path leading to a beach along the Atlantic coast. The tristesse of present-day France is a dominant theme not only in his books, but in his photos as well. They typically depict suburban ghettos, highways, gray tarmac streets and empty parking lots.
Image: Michel Houellebecq/Courtesy Air de Paris
Sand desert
Wastelands devoid of human life, as depicted here on "Espagne #009," appear to fascinate Houellebecq. With his camera, he finds pictorial perspectives of inhospitable concrete buildings in the outskirts of Paris or barren landscapes in northern Spain.
Image: Michel Houellebecq/Courtesy Air de Paris
Sober colors
The somber colors of Houellebecq's photos also express this sense of tristesse, while his literary works are more shrill. He is fascinated by "the poetry of disgust," he once told Swiss daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
Image: Michel Houellebecq/Courtesy Air de Paris
...and shrill ones
In June 2016, visitors of the Paris exhibition were able to explore Houellebecq's entire photographic oeuvre in 21 halls spread out over 2,000 square meters. The artist is also obsessed by the shrill and bright colors of advertising panels. Exalted and excessive: these attributes have also contributed to the best-selling author's image.
Image: Michel Houellebecq/courtesy Air de Paris
Controversial books
Many of his works have stirred controversy, and not only in France. In a highly provocative fashion, the author writes on sex tourism, homophobia or Islamophobia. One of his most controversial works, "Submission," was released on the same day as the attacks onsatirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was attacked by Islamist terrorists in 2015.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Berg
Poetic devotion
The author has somewhat withdrawn from the public. Following the terrorist attacks on Charlie Hebdo and the publication of "Submission," he has received death threats, and that has obviously affected him. His photo "Arrangement #011" shows a totally different side of Houellebecq, certainly not one that's commonly associated with his persona.
Image: Michel Houellebecq/courtesy Air de Paris
Last words
Tired of the "indictment" that happens with each interview, Michel Houellebecq announced at the Frankfurt Book Fair last year that he would stop giving them. He talked a last time to Spiegel magazine, discussing France, Germany, literature and religion. He also said he was working on a novel, but didn't know when it would be ready.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Roessler
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1956 or 1958? The sources are not clear when it comes to Michel Houellebecq's year of birth. His mother possibly made him out to be two years older than he actually was in order to get him into school sooner. At least, that is what France's most famous author said once in the past. He never cleared up the confusion. Like so much else in Houellebecq's life, it has become part of his ironic game.
Houellebecq, who has written numerous poetry books, a biographical essay and multiple novels, has perfected the art of provocation. Some of his best-known works of fiction include "Atomised" (1998), about two brothers' modern mental struggles, "The Map and the Territory" (2010), in which he imagines his own murder, and the political satire "Submission" (2015), about a conservative Muslim political party winning the French presidential election.
Many critics consider Houellebecq to be reactionary and Islamophobic while others see him as a literary visionary with an unmistakable feel for the ills and insecurities of the present time. The author has hinted he would like to write another novel dealing with the theme of love — or maybe the lack of love. Ambiguity, it seems, does not decrease with age.
