Michel Houellebecq

	Atomised
	aka  The Elementary Particles

First published in France by Flammarion, 1998 October 15. First published in Britain by William Heinemann, 2000 May 4. First British paperback published 2001 March 1 by Vintage. British editions use a translation by Frank Wynne.

Atomised is a controversial novel. Its publication (as Les Particules élémentaires) created a storm in France. The reason is that it simultaneously appealed to and appalled all schools of thought. Elements of the text can be taken as promoting racism, sexism, homophobia, selfishness, isolation and eugenics. Others may encourage tolerance, true love, searching for intellectual enlightenment, links between and within arts, humanities and science. Michel Houellebecq had had a minor reputation as a poet. This relative obscurity vanished when Les Particules élémentaires came out. Its publication here produced many column inches - divided fairly evenly between those praising it as an important novel and those engaging with the debates it had stimulated. The debates have continued with Houellebecq's later works, stimulating Salman Rushdie to enter the fray. You can find out more about the arguments on both the BBC and Telegraph Websites.

Sadly, hardly any British critics seem to have bothered to dig out their Noddy's guides to the various scientific theories and areas of study dealt with in Atomised. In particular, they seem to have been blind to the quantum concept of "entanglement", whereby a pair of elementary particles can be linked such that affecting one will change the other - but perhaps Houellebecq was too! Scientific allusions, references and expositions are an integral part of the novel, which may irritate or baffle some readers. This presumption of knowledge and interest applies generally, and I think it would do no harm to seek out a brief history of French culture and society in the 20th century before starting the novel. That is not to say that the writing is obscure. Assuming the translation to be a good one - and there is no indication to the contrary - Atomised is very well written. This is perhaps part of the reason the book attracted so much attention; it is one thing for two-dimensional characters in unregarded stories to express racist views, quite another when a complex and fully-developed character does so in a novel penned by the recipient of a literary award.

All this, and still no mention of naturism! Bear with me. The two main characters in Atomised are half brothers. They share a few characteristics, but are notable mostly for their differences and distinctions. As the paperback blurb puts it: "Michel is a molecular biologist, a thinker and an idealist, a man with no erotic life to speak of and little in the way of human society. Bruno, by contrast, is a libertine, though more in theory than in practice, his endless lust being all too rarely reciprocated." These contrasts help Houellebecq to investigate facets of and distinctions between aspects of sexual behaviour, and emotions such as love, attraction, lust and affection. There is a similar exploration of the links and separations between nudity and sex, including the ways in which one person's non-sexual nudity can be viewed in an unambiguously sexual way by someone else. The scenes of social nudity take place primarily in the context of the "Lieu de Changement" (loose translation: Somewhere to be Transformed, or, if you like bad puns, Site for Development) and in Cap d'Agde. (Most naturists will have read, heard or experienced quite a lot about the latter - if not there's loads of stuff on the Web, try this for a starter.) The former is a substantial rural retreat with similarities to California's Esalen, offering a range of New Age delights. On a more basic level, it provides ample "opportunity to 'get your rocks off'".

Bruno certainly gets his rocks off at Lieu de Changement, although not as often or as satisfyingly as he would wish. He has much more luck at Cap d'Agde. Houellebecq (or translator Frank Wynne) refers almost exclusively to "nudist", rarely to "naturist", even dubbing the Quartier Naturiste a "nudist colony ... with a capacity of 10,000 beds". It is made clear from the start that the naturism here is very much of the 'extended menu' variety: "Though it boasted three shopping centres, a mini-golf course and bicycle rental, the primary attractions for holidaymakers at the Cap d'Agde colony were sex and sunbathing." You can read a larger exposition in the extracts. In Atomised there isn't very much sunbathing, but there is a lot of sex. The descriptions of Cap d'Agde are presented in two forms; both as part of the novel and in Bruno's (rejected) article for a high-brow journal. I have never been to Cap d'Agde myself, but from what I have heard and read the book paints a fair picture. The presence of sexless family and social nudity is acknowledged, but Houellebecq's Cap d'Agde is primarily a highly-charged and extensive sexual hothouse. On the other hand, descriptions of "traditional nudist colonies" are far from reality in many respects. They appear to have been created from distorted memories of 1970s naturist magazines. Since these portrayals are ostensibly penned by Bruno, not Houellebecq himself, this is probably how the author is supposed to have acquired the background!

I think it is worth reading Atomised, and worth reading carefully. It may not tell you much about traditional family naturism, but you might learn about some of what happens on the fringes of naturism and naturist resorts. You should also gain an insight into how at least some elements of French society have evolved from the demonstrations and riots of 1968. But don't read it if you find explicit descriptions of sex and violence offensive or upsetting - this is most definitely an adult book, in all senses of that adjective.

An edited version of this review appeared in the 2004 August issue of H&E Naturist magazine.

Ratings:

Nudity	Naturist nudity	A good read?

Last updated 2004 June 15.
 
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