A New Book from Michel Houellebcq: Very Little Sex Tourism Here

The French novelist Michel Houellebecq is possibly best known for pissing off Muslims and for endorsing sex tourism. Add to that a reputation for crazy boozing, and the guy doesn’t win loads of sympathy. (A mini flap over the author’s alleged plagiarism from Wikipedia seems quaint by comparison.) He’s sort of old school in his ability to debauch and infuriate. Houellebecq’s new novel, The Map and the Territory, out this month in English, is perhaps surprising for not being quite as outrageous as the author’s previous work. That doesn’t mean it won’t shock a good many readers.

By John Adamian

January 18, 2012