Submission: A Novel

This is not Houellebecq's best work, but it is worthwhile. The novel has been portrayed as a controversial look at the rise of political Islam in France. Unfortunately, I find this description misleading. While Islam, in the form of a French based Muslim Brotherhood, is an important theme, it plays more of a passive role in the novel. The rise of the Brotherhood and the changes that occur to the French Republic are described in a matter of fact way. The real story of the novel is the clash between Everyman and the Western political elites that have failed to effectively promote the march of liberalism and secular humanism. Houellebecq describes a world adrift, lacking motivation and metaphysics. Additionally, he holds his greatest contempt for the Leftist intellectuals and mainstream political elites who are more than willing to throw their hat with the Brotherhood rather than permit the Far Right to hold any semblance of democratic legitimacy. The Left destroys humanism through having multiculturalism devour itself. Meanwhile, the Right eventually will find itself at home in an mildly Islamist country (less sexual society, return to family values, less drinking!). This is a description of a society that is split between apahty and desperation. Secular humanism fails to provide metaphysics. The promise of European liberalism died in the trenches of World War I and has been usurped by two forces: American consumerism and Islamism. His points show that it's hard for a society to get excited about mediocre politics, commerce and sexual liberation. Islamism represents a return to orthodoxy that Europe has been missing since the fall of medieval Christianity. Mainstream politics keeps liberalism on life support, masking the world as a struggle between communism and social democracy. However, both systems rely on statism and the erosion of the nuclear family and the Church. In the end, the masses realize there is little tangible difference in what is being offered by the political elites. Islam could easily be the new orthodoxy. It provides meaning and stability to both the apolitical and the overtly political (what is Islam without politics?). The West can retire nationalism, a 19th century invention that perpetuated death and destruction around the world, with minimal violence. The West can make an influence on Islam by inviting it in and safeguarding its cultural history. If history is written by the victors, why not surrender and influence the writing of history? Europe can shed the pain and suffering of the 20th century overnite. What great art or thought has come out of the West after the Franco-Prussian war? American consumerism? Do you really want to celebrate that? The West can protect and shape the history of its people by willfully submitting to a new orthodoxy, such as Islam. Imagine if the West could join its moderate Islamist brothers to help create a global, meaningful ever lasting Dar al Islam. Even better if the Dar al Islam could be run by the European Union. For those unfamiliar with Houellebecq, his writing style is not for everyone. He will provoke and occasionally disgust some readers. Reading Houellebecq is not a comfortable proposition, but Submission is one of his most approachable works. He writes a funny, engaging novel that presents a dire warning to where Western culture is heading. While having fun with us, Houellebecq is also serious about his subject matter. This is a fine example of contemporary tragic satire. It is important to remember this is satire. This is not realistic. However, despite the absurdity of the events, there are elements that are entirely plausible. Grand coalitions are made to ensure organizations like the National Front do not come to power. Far Right groups are gaining ground in just about all Western countries. A lot of the fear of the Far Right are not so much the history of fascism some groups represent, but instead their open hostility to the great EU experiment. The mainstream elites have spent 15 years using illiberal means to perpetuate the power Brussels has over the people. Houellebecq captures this sad disconnect between people and its rulers and shows just how bizarre society can get when people stop caring.

This novel is far more a portrait of contemporary society than any inflammatory depiction of Islam. Houellebecq's protagonist, Francois, is the modern human who goes through life devoid of meaning, passion, any cherished human connection or deeply held beliefs. Sex and gourmandise fail to provide even momentary joy. His academic pursuits at least provide diversion and prestige, but they are not particularly fulfilling. This regime, that regime; it's hard to see how it could make any substantive difference to Francois. This is the masterful means by which we come to observe several sociological truths. First, nature abhors a vacuum; ergo those who do believe in something will trump the apathetic, the nihilist, and the anomic. Second, the family is a core unit of society; ergo the fraying of ties accompanied by the increased atomization of the individual poses a threat to the societal tapestry that must be addressed. Religions and other ideologies tend to fill the interstices, the cracks that form, rather effectively in a society. The filler in the 2022 France of Submission is a moderate Islam, a religion that already had traction due to Islamic immigration and a high birth rate. Rest assured that no terrorism is involved; that would be "amateurish" and repugnant. The multiple parties vying for power in France fracture the political system enough to allow the Islamic party to assume power with just 22% of the vote. Those who believe the events described to be totally implausible must not know history. Having lived in places where regime change dramatically transformed societies virtually overnight, I disagree vehemently. As for the criticism that a university would never allow itself to be subsumed into such an ideology, I counter with a decade of teaching experience in the university and another decade as a keen observer. Intellectuals can be co-opted and paid off as easily as other segments of society and are--witness the endowed chairs and the political bent they often have that supports the donors' so neatly. In Submission's Université of Paris, there is abundant money flowing from the Gulf States to fund it all; salaries rise astronomically and those employees who no longer fit are paid sumptuous pensions. Why complain? Now they're free to do their research without the pesky teaching responsibilities. The regime change privileges males: patriarchy is acknowledged as reflective of the order and hierarchy present in nature. Women are relegated to the domestic sphere; polygamy becomes normalized. Again, those privileged by the system are unlikely to complain. This is a compelling page turner of a novel. It is intelligently written and as a result makes the reader feel smart. It does what great literature should do: it illuminates aspects of the human experience that are both changeless and quite specific to our time. Houellebecq reveals that, despite our disavowals, the undeniable human craving for the meaning and connection that is lacking in their lives can lead them down some rather unexpected paths.

昨年読んだ、「西洋の自死: 移民・アイデンティティ・イスラム」で言及されていた作品だ。フランス語の作品なのでフランス語はほとんど読めないので無視していたが、英語訳があったので読んでみた。驚いたことに日本語訳まで出ている。いや、フランス文学って日本でまだ翻訳されるんだ。 中身はまず読みやすい。フランスの小説だということで、わけのわからない文が綿々と続き、最初ははたして読めるのかという恐怖があったのだが、これは拍子抜け。あっという間に読めてしまう。描かれている場はフランスのパリの大学ソルボンヌか。どうもフランスの大学の仕組みはよくわからないのだが。でも大学は典型的な文化政治が行われる場だ。主人公はそこでフランス文学を教える40代の教授そして彼の専門はジョリス＝カルル・ユイスマンスなんですわ。この作家は名前こそ有名なデカダン派の作家のだが、これまでは読んだことはない。第一次大戦前に見受けられた、ダーウインの進化論により神が死んだ後の価値の真空状態を埋めようとした流派という理解を私はしている。 そして描かれた時代は近未来の2022年のフランス。そう近未来小説、それもディストピア小説。そこでは総選挙が行われ、国民戦線が第一党になるのだが、過半数を得ることはできず、社会党は第三党に転落、第二党に躍進したのがMuslim Brotherhood（ムスリム同胞団?)。そこで左派と中道がこの第二党と連合を結ぶというわけだ。この連合のベースとなる政策協定が曲者だった。この政策協定自体は宗教の復権と社会福祉の削減とユーロの創造的な拡張(北アフリカ諸国を引き込むことによるEurabia構想）をベースとしているのだが、つまるところは国有企業や公教育への政府補助の廃止。政府補助が廃止となったため、義務教育は大幅に短縮され、教育の分野ではフランス公教育を特徴づけた世俗主義は否定され、私教育が中心となることになる。つまるところはオイルマネーを呼びこめる名門大学のみが財政を確保できることになる。ただしイスラム教の大学へと衣替えをすることによってのみ、そのオイルマネーの恩恵にあずかれるということになるのだ。つまり大学のイスラム化なのだ。そして大学からは女性の教員は消え、女子学生の服装も大幅に変わることになる。また「家族」の役割の見直しにより、女性の社会進出は否定され、女性の家庭への「復帰」と引き換えに、巨額の子ども並びに家族手当が整備されることになり、労働力の供給が減り、失業率も大幅に低下することになる。 主人公の大学教授は大学のイスラム化の結果、大学からは魅力的な年金と共に首を言い渡され、ガールフレンドである女性もイスラエルへ移住してしまったため、もともと希薄であった社会との接点が絶たれてしまうのだ。この社会との接点の薄さはそれ以外にも様々な角度から強調される。この状況の中で主人公はいくつかの歴史的なカソリック僧院を偶然並びにある目的のために訪れることになる。ただそのあとにも今後の道が見えることはない。そしてある選択がこの主人公に突きつけられることになる。 この選択を正当化するための哲学的な対話がこの教授と大学の学長との間で繰り広げられるのだが、ここは本作品の肝であり、この作品のタイトルをも示唆しているので、種明かしは控える。神が退場した後の対立はハードな人間主義（共産主義）とソフトな人間主義（liberal democracy)の間で繰り広げられてきたわけだが、中間団体や民族をおもちゃにしているうちはよかったのだが、とうとう究極の「家庭」という単位の崩壊にまでたどり着くと、その論理的な帰結は出生率の低下というわけだ。この種の対話は、ケストラーの「Darkness at Noon」や「Arrival and Departure」でも繰り広げられている定番の仕掛けだろうか。 本書では、ある種pornographicまがいのシーンが何度か挿入されるのだが、あまり本質的な必然性は感じられない。主人公の専門でもあるユイスマンスやユイスマンスの同時代人でもある様々なデカダン派や象徴主義の詩人や文学者にも言及されるのだが、これらの人物にあまり知識のない私には本書のテーマとの有機的な連関がどうもよくわからなかった。はたして本作品がオーウエルの「１９８４年」やザミャーチンの「我ら」に匹敵する作品かどうかは疑問だが、たしかに西欧社会を覆う現代のニヒリズムとイスラムを現代のフランスという舞台を借りて対峙させたという仕組みはたしかにある種の魅力を発散させている。日本では宗教をこのような題材とした作品は書きにくいだろう。

This book is a best seller in France. If you know about human beings basic instincts, you will be able to draw countless ideas.

Very entertaining and well written. I loved the author's sardonic humour, although I had hoped for a slightly less compliant ending. But, I suppose, the appeal of an easy life is hard to resist.

This book is a masterpiece. One might not find it appealing, since it talks about the well-known boring academic life, where nearly no one gets to do research on their chosen topic, or simply read what they want. However, the author portrays a middle-aged professor who is intelligent, melancholy, depressive, and yet French. Indeed, there is something very French about this book. The pace of the narration mirrors even Sagan, saying, Bon Jour, life! Salut everything. Being an expert on 19th century French literature, where Baudelaire brought the "depressive disease" at the turn of the century, he knows all about sensitivity, being an intellectual, politics, privilege, visiting prostitutes and strolling... Sometimes, I could smell the indifference Camus brought to our awareness. That, also strikes me to think about all the terror attacks happened recently as well as the protagonist. When Abbes comes into power, how on earth could he understand Camus' indifference with the tight kinship background. But yet the transformation for women to stay at home and wear veils have been smooth, not much confrontation. But where, should we put our Walter Benjaminian bourgeois sorrow? Among some issues, author sounds like Dostoyevsky, only with a much more peaceful reasoning, but still, the stormy conversation in big chunk paragraphs. It's reminiscent like history at all times.

This is such a strangely disturbing book that it's hard to classify. Is it a piss-take? Are we being taken for a ride? Perhaps only the French are qualified to have an opinion on those questions but for the English speaking reader it's a fascinating glimpse of a totally credible future . If you ignore one or two unlikely digressions , his picture of the abdication of the French intelligentsia makes perfect sense. I read this book in two days and couldn't stop thinking about it for a week.