His sixth novel, Submission, set in 2022, is about France becoming an Islamic state.
Ever since the publication of his latest novel, Submission, it seems Michel Houellebecq has succeeded in achieving what in psychoanalytical theory is known as "the return of the repressed".
The contours of such places have been reflected in literary works such as George Orwell's 1984, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, and Michel Houellebecq's latest novel Submission.
Houellebecq's new novel, Submission, takes place in 2022, in a France where for the first time the president is a Muslim.
(He is arguably the inspiration behind Mohamed Ben Abbes, the Muslim who becomes France's President in Michel Houellebecq's novel "Submission").
But nothing in Houllebecq's outrageous and nihilistic repertoire has ever created as much of a storm as his latest novel, Submission, published in English this week.
The writer's new novel "Submission", released in France on Wednesday, has caused controversy after it was described by critics as an "Islamophobic scare story".
Michel Houellebecq's satirical novel "Submission" arrived with appalling timeliness; its publication in France, in January, coincided with the Charlie Hebdo massacre, while its American publication came less than a month before the Paris attacks, in November.
Houellebecq's new novel, "Submission," also out Wednesday, according to the Times, "predicts a future France run by Muslims, in which women forsake Western dress and polygamy is introduced".
Houellebecq's new novel, "Submission," was published in France on the day of the murders; he also happened to be on the cover of the issue of Charlie Hebdo then on newsstands.
