A Man With An Agenda

I went into this blind, suckered in by a Chip Kidd cover and that vaguely guilty feeling I get when I haven't read a 'new' new book in some time. I wasn't aware of Houellebecq's reputation, or the buzz surrounding this particular book. Both points worked in my favor.

At first 'The Map and the Territory' was simply a well-written, elegant depiction of an artist's development and, being French, ennui, as the novel extends into the faded but realistic future.

At first my enjoyment of the novel and the artist, Jed Martin, was attached to Houellebecq's craftsmanship (and the translators), but nothing about the story struck me. Even the post-modern inclusion of himself as a character didn't strike me as so unusual.

But then.

Houellebecq starts the last section of the novel with a scene from which it is impossible to disengage. The novel continues to be serene and poised, but the presence of that scene and the possibility of some conclusion makes the pages fly.