Michel Houellebecq
world outside rules human
"The world outside had its own rules, and those rules were not human."
— Michel Houellebecq
like world society disgust advertising sick computer puke
"I don't like this world. I definitely do not like it. The society in which I live disgusts me; advertising sickens me; computers make me puke."
— Michel Houellebecq
tenderness instinct seduction hope
"Tenderness is a deeper instinct than seduction, which is why it is so hard to give up hope."
— Michel Houellebecq
present veer belief chance evidence determinism
"When we think about the present, we veer wildly between the belief in chance and the evidence in favour of determinism. When we think about the past, however, it seems obvious that everything happened in the way that it was intended."
— Michel Houellebecq
terrorist France habit
"You get used to terrorist attacks. France will hold on. The French will hold on, without even needing a 'sursaut national,' a national pushback reflex. They’ll hold on because there’s no other way, and because you get used to everything. No human force, not even fear, is stronger than habit."
— Michel Houellebecq
curious idea reproduce like life
"It's a curious idea to reproduce when you don't even like life."
— Michel Houellebecq
anything happen life nothing
"Anything can happen in life, especially nothing."
— Michel Houellebecq
irony save humour life laughing heart broken life
"Irony won't save you from anything; humour doesn't do anything at all. You can look at life ironically for years, maybe decades; there are people who seem to go through most of their lives seeing the funny side, but in the end, life always breaks your heart. Doesn't matter how brave you are, or how reserved, or how much you've developed a sense of humour, you still end up with your heart broken. That's when you stop laughing."
— Michel Houellebecq
life illusion painful
"If life is an illusion it's a pretty painful one."
— Michel Houellebecq
americans stupid intellectual level country Europe
"The Americans are completely stupid. The intellectual level in any single European country is higher than in America."
— Michel Houellebecq
read books dangerous live life risk
"Not having anything around to read is dangerous: you have to content yourself with life itself, and that can lead you to take risks."
— Michel Houellebecq
male female age categories distinction pendantry hierarchy
"Of course, we can distinguish between males and females; we can also, if we choose, distinguish between different age categories; but any more advanced distinction comes close to pedantry, probably a result of boredom. A creature that is bored elaborates distinctions and hierarchies. According to Hutchinson and Rawlins, the development of systems of hierarchical dominance within animal societies does not correspond to any practical necessity, nor to any selective advantage; it simply constitutes a means of combating the crushing boredom of life in the heart of nature."
— Michel Houellebecq
popular mistake
"Why am I popular? I don't know. Is it a mistake? I should think it's a mistake somewhere."
— Michel Houellebecq
active people change world ideas Napoleon Rousseau
"Active people don't change the world profoundly; ideas do. Napoleon is less important in world history than Jean-Jacques Rousseau."
— Michel Houellebecq
ask question point change mind
"There is no point in asking me general questions because I am always changing my mind."
— Michel Houellebecq
suspicious single men vacation selfish pervers pervy
"People are suspicious of single men on vacation, after they get to a certain age: they assume that they're selfish, and probably a bit pervy. I can't say they're wrong."
— Michel Houellebecq
people understand hidden heart alcohol
“It’s hard to understand other people, to know what’s hidden in their hearts, and without the assistance of alcohol it might never be done at all.”
— Michel Houellebecq
past beautiful future present hurts suffer infinite happiness pe
“The past is always beautiful. So, for that matter, is the future. Only the present hurts, and we carry it around like an abscess of suffering, our compassion between two infinities of happiness and peace.”
— Michel Houellebecq
realations people sense ourself unbearable
“It is in our relations with other people that we gain a sense of ourselves; it's that, pretty much, that makes relations with other people unbearable.”
— Michel Houellebecq
beds last marriage
“...beds last on an average much longer than marriages...”
— Michel Houellebecq