In 1994, Michel Houellebecq (born in 1956) published Extension du domaine de la lutte and immediately became one of the most promising French author of his generation. His literary career has since made him one of the most translated, popular and polemical French contemporary writer.

The protagonist of the Extension du domaine de la lutte lives a solitary life and has not had sex for years because of his lack of charm and beauty. He is an average man and lives an average life. From banal conversations at the coffee machine to his observations of social life, the book is a voyage through disenchantment. The story of this depressed and isolated man, told through his monologues and adventures, is a strong criticism of modern society that is only obsessed with sex, money and performance. The title of the book –with its marxist connotation– expresses Houellebecq’s whole statement about the progression of the free market ideology deep into our personal lives: love and sex are products too; and competition is hash. Beside its pessimistic yet funny point of view, the book is now considered as one of the most devastating satires of our time!

We read this book in the winter of 2020.