Prix de Flore
1 appearances
-
Edition 3 (1996) Winner
Michel Houellebecq
ミシェル・ウェルベック
Misheru Werubekku
Aliases:
Michel Thomas
Pen Names:
Houellebecq（Adopted from paternal grandmother's maiden name）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1956-02-26 （Réunion）
- Died
- :null （:null）
- Nationality
- France
- Languages
- French
- Residence History
- Réunion (birth) → Algeria (from 5 months to 1961) → France (from 1961) → Ireland (several years)
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Poet, Filmmaker, Essayist, Singer
- Active Years
- 1991-
- Affiliations
- French National Assembly (temporary)
- Influenced By
- H. P. Lovecraft
- Influenced
- Contemporary French literature
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lycée Henri Moissan | — | — | — | — | France |
| Lycée Chaptal | — | Préparation aux grandes écoles | — | — | France |
| Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon | — | — | — | 1975-1980 | France |
Lycée Henri Moissan
Country:
France
As a boarder
Lycée Chaptal
Préparation aux grandes écoles
Country:
France
Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon
Period:
1975-1980
Year of Graduation:
1980
Country:
France
Started literary review Karamazov and wrote poetry
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Prix Novembre | Les Particules élémentaires | — | Prix Novembre | winner |
| 2002 | International Dublin Literary Award | Atomised | — | — | winner |
| 2010 | Prix Goncourt | La Carte et le Territoire | — | Académie Goncourt | winner |
| 2019 | Austrian State Prize for European Literature | — | — | — | winner |
| 2025 | Jerusalem Prize | — | — | — | winner |
Prix Novembre
1998
Work:
Les Particules élémentaires
Organization:
Prix Novembre
Result:
winner
International Dublin Literary Award
2002
Work:
Atomised
Result:
winner
Prix Goncourt
2010
Work:
La Carte et le Territoire
Organization:
Académie Goncourt
Result:
winner
Austrian State Prize for European Literature
2019
Result:
winner
Jerusalem Prize
2025
Result:
winner
Awards & Nominations
Prix Décembre
1 appearances
-
Edition 12 (1998) Winner
International Dublin Literary Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 7 (2002) Winner
Prix Interallié (Interallié Prize)
1 appearances
-
Edition 72 (2005) Winner
Tähtivaeltaja Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 22 (2007) Nominee
Prix Goncourt
1 appearances
-
Edition 108 (2010) Winner
Austrian State Prize for European Literature
1 appearances
-
Edition 54 (2019) Winner
-
Edition 31 (2025) Winner
Works
Major Works
Whatever
1994 NovelA computer programmer's bleak life and societal musings
LonelinessSocietySex
Adaptations
- [Film] Whatever / Philippe Harel (1999)
- [Play] / Jens Albinus
Atomised
1998 NovelFate of two half-brothers from the 1960s, leading to neo-humans
NihilismScienceSexEugenics
Adaptations
- [Film] Elementarteilchen / Oskar Roehler (2006)
Platform
2001 NovelSex tourism and Islam critique, leading to trial
Sex TourismIslamCapitalism
Adaptations
- [Play] / Calixto Bieito (2006)
The Map and the Territory
2010 NovelAccidental art star satirizing contemporary art
ArtCapitalism
Submission
2015 NovelMuslim party rules France in 2022
IslamPolitics
Bibliography
- H. P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life (1991)
- Whatever (1994)
- The Art of Struggle (1996)
- Atomised (1998)
- Lanzarote (2000)
- Platform (2001)
- The Possibility of an Island (2005)
- The Map and the Territory (2010)
- Submission (2015)
- Serotonin (2019)
- Annihilation (2022)
Adaptations
- La Possibilité d'une île (film directed by himself, 2008)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- CynicalExplicitSocial CritiquePornographic
- Recurring Motifs
- Free-market intrusion into relationshipsSex and LonelinessNihilismTechnological Loneliness
Health
-
Depression1980年代初頭After first divorce
Legacy
France's biggest literary export, enfant terrible of modern French literature, known for nihilism and social critique
In Popular Culture
- Submission published on day of Charlie Hebdo attack
- Influenced Iggy Pop's Préliminaires
Quotes
-
Islam is the dumbest religion
Source: Lire magazine interview (2002) -
Am I islamophobic? Probably yes
Source: The Guardian (2015)
Trivia
- Uncertain birth year: 1956 or 1958
- Mother allegedly faked birth certificate
- Three marriages, one child