Michel Houellebecq on Art, Death, and the Contemporary World

In an interview with Catherine Millet and Jacques Henric, Michel Houellebecq discusses his novel "La Carte et le Territoire" (Flammarion, 2010), which features an artist protagonist, Jed Martin, and a fictionalized version of Houellebecq himself who is murdered. Houellebecq explains that the novel's core is the father-son relationship, a theme he felt was underexplored in his previous work. He cites a visit to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam as a key inspiration, where he was struck by how 17th-century Dutch paintings conveyed social and economic truths. Houellebecq admits he modeled Jed's artistic practice on his own tastes—hardware stores and road maps—and that he would have made similar art had he been an artist. He denies being intentionally provocative, stating that his writing has always seemed normal to him. He also reflects on the changing perception of his work, the role of love (or its absence) in his novels, and his belief in the active existence of evil. Houellebecq predicts the future lies outside the West, specifically in China, and humorously suggests investing in the Creuse region for Chinese tourism. The interview covers his writing process, his admiration for Thomas Mann's "Doctor Faustus," and his interest in utopian thinker William Morris.