Rating: 
Summary: A rather terrifying but realistic vision of (his?) life
Review: "Extension du domaine de la lutte", so does the original title, shows an acute vision of life in its everyday details and a taste for cold logics that help Houellebecq explain how his life went THAT bad... (See "The elementary particles" for this parallel between "hard" science and life). His vision might seem absolutely ugly and repulsive at first glance, but since his narration is flawless you just can't refuse it, and -above all- his (cold but terrific) sense of humor makes the book readable... To me it is a "must", even better than the "Particles" (the decade's best-seller in France), which is less vivid and more complex in its structure...
Rating: 
Summary: The Modern Individual
Review: "L'Extension du Domaine de la Lutte" or, as it is known in English translation, "Whatever", is a strange novel dealing with the increasing alienation of its anti-hero. This person, bored and demotivated by his work and the state of his private life, becomes increasingly detached from and contemptuous of his fellow human beings. Society in general seems less increasingly absurd to him, yet much more burdensome and irritating - the individual's way of life is becoming much less "individual", defined and shaped by as it is by forces which both expect and demand types of behaviour. Houellebecq tries to examine the nature of the individual in contemporary society and points to the paradox that increased ease of communication through technological advances has not resulted in closer relationships between people, rather the reverse. Fulfilment and happiness are not an automatic by-product of the computer age. Furthermore, economic liberalism and sexual liberalism have marched hand in hand, but both produce winners and losers (and not necessarily the same groups in each case). I thought that "L'Extension du Domaine de la Lutte" was a challenging novel, unsettling at times even though there are some lighter touches (such as the perils of buying a single bed when you're single). The anti-hero is an unsympathetic figure, intentionally so, and his acerbic views can exasperate, but the novel does make you think about the nature of "progress" and how the modern world might be reshaping the lives of individuals. G Rodgers
Rating: 
Summary: A Troubling Book
Review: Having just completed Houellebecq's "Whatever" I'm a bit uncertain what to make of it. To read the blurbs and quotes on the back-cover, one might expect something a bit more comical than what this actually is. The tone of this book, however, is dark, dark, dark... Houellebecq's narrator/central character is an unhappy man who feels contempt for women, love, society, technology, his job, himself, etc. He has an acerbic wit that, at times, is amusing, but it's a bitter sort of humor. There's nothing light-hearted about it. As the book progresses, the main character becomes increasingly alienated and miserable, ultimately scheming to convert his co-worker (a loveless, ugly man) to murder. The plan fails, but things continue to get darker and darker until the main character finally enters a mental hospital. There is a bitter contempt for life/love/humanity that runs through this book and, while it is cleverly written at times, it's not really all that enjoyable experience and I'm not sure what the book really has to say other than "Life sucks." Frankly, I think the same sorts of themes are handled far more eloquently and with far greater insight by Camus' "The Stranger." Houellebecq is a talented writer but this book just didn't do much for me overall.
Rating: 
Summary: Not his best
Review: He writes well about people feeling isolated and misunderstood
in the world. I will give him that. But this book hardly lives
up to The Elementary Particles. In that book,
there is a subversion of the genre called "I'm writing about
not so nice people who are both alienated and alientating to
society," in that the story is actually reasonably well
formed. Here, it's just not done as well.
Rating:
Summary: Good book, undermined by Bad Translation
Review: I've read this little novella twice, both in fits of insomnia, while lamenting the loss of my girlfriend. The meaning is very clearly laid out, both by the narration, and by the occasional exposition of the narrator. Houellebecq's major thesis is that in the aftermath of the cold war, and the triumph of capitalism, the same cutthroat comepetition that has left behind so many economically has crept into social life to the extent that some get screwed, and others get screwed. Upon the first reading, the message was clear enough, but on the second reading, there emerges a subtlety to the narration that conveys the message far better than the expository rants that the narrator occasionally goes on. So much for the book itself. I'm sure it merits a good five stars, but the translation is absolutely abhorent. At first glance, it's just the occasional creeping British argot, but you realize that the sentences are choppy, and that the argot is there just for its own sake. It is translated into nobody's vernacular. Hammond's rendition into a limp British slang is quite comical, especially since Houellebecq has been militating against Americanization (or at least you can feel that undertone) which the translator really undermines.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good! A "Fight Club" done right
Review: Reminiscent of Miller (Henry) and "the Catcher in the Rye" a bit. Not a timeless book by any means but a very decent period piece. Like Emerson (?) said, every generation must rewrite same books after their own fashion -- and that's just it, a cleverly and imaginatively done relevant, honest, and philosophical tale of "fear and loathing" for our times, a bit like the "Fight Club" only by an order of magnitude more intelligent and subtle. I've read it in one sitting: it's small and strangely bewitching, though like I've said, not perfect, or, to be precise, it's uneven. I see other reviewers complaining about the translation, well, I thought the English version was OK, though I haven't compared specifically. Except perhaps the title, which perfectly translates into English as "Extension of the Domain of Struggle"--which linkes up with something in the text--but became "Whatever" (which doesn't, and is meaningless). Anyway, who cares about the title. I also got another Houellebecq book (Elementary Particles), in English too, read just a bit so far, and it's not bad either. Now, here (it's a different translator though) the translation does seem a bit lacking, sort of choppy, awkward, so that tells you why you need to read stuff in the original. Meaning if you can read French, go for the original, don't be lazy, it's worth the effort in this case. Houellebecq's latest book, Plateforme, seems untranslated yet ... so here's a good justification to try the real thing if you can--if you put them side by side you'll see that a translation is always off, even if only in the overall feel... if it's close, it's awkward English, if it's more graceful, then it's not true to the source. Anyway, I'm deviating; what I wanted to say was that "Whatever" is an uncommonly honest and psychological book from a relatively unknown author and is well worth reading: thus my very strict evaluation is go get it.
Rating:
Summary: bad translation
Review: some of the English in here reads like the publisher fed the French version into an online translator like Babelfish...this really ruined an otherwise brilliant book for me...
Rating:
Summary: Something got lost in the translation
Review: The cover art is horrible. The title doesn't fit. And the writing is just plain bad. Douglas Coupland does a much better job on the subject of alienation in modern society -- and even he could use a little help at times. Michel Houellebecq is riding a wave of knee-jerk popularity after being crowned France's "most controversial" writer in years. There's nothing controversial about this book, nothing new on these pages, and nothing here to believe that Houellebecq is anything more that a marketing-induced literary flavor of the month. Want to read a controversial French author of substance? Check out some Camus.
Rating:
Summary: Disgusted
Review: The main character in this book gives us a cynical diatribe against sexual and economical liberalism, wherein men and women are painted as disgusting, decrepit adolescents. They are only searching for more sex, power and influence in the marketplace or taking the necessary measures to assure their dominating position therein. The main targets of his insults are psychiatrists, dentists, bureaucrats and women, although at the end he seeks himself psychological counselling! This book reads like a train. The French title 'Extension du domaine de lutte' suggests that the author intended to portrait a rebel in our modern capitalist society. But his main character becomes disillusioned and leaves the rat race for a peaceful retreat in the countryside! This book gives us a good portrait of the actual working conditions of middle management in a big modern company. A worth-while read.
Rating:
Summary: Disgusted
Review: The main character in this book shouts a cynical diatribe against sexual and economical liberalism, wherein men and women are painted as disgusting, decrepit adolescents. They are only searching for more sex, power and influence in the marketplace or taking the necessary measures to assure their dominating position therein. The main targets of his insults are psychiatrists, dentists, bureaucrats and modern women. This book is not without some severe contradictions; e.g. while insulting psychiatrists, the main character seeks himself psychological counselling(!); while treating women contemptuously, he looks for real love.
The French title 'Extension du domaine de la lutte' suggests that the author intends to portrait a rebel in our modern capitalist society, where life is transformed into a rat race. But the 'rebel' longs for a peaceful retreat into the countryside!
More, the author doesn't propose an alternative solution for our society, nor gives he hints that human behaviour will be different in an otherwise organized world. This book reads like a train. It gives us a real good portrait of the actual working conditions of middle management in a big modern company. Even with its controdictions, this work is a worth-while read.
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