Michel Houellebecq is not only one of the most significant writers of our time, but also a contentious figure, a constant source of provocations, controversies, and discussions regarding the boundaries between provocation and scandal, irony and conservative platitude, literature and ideology.

The texts in this volume attempt to describe the terms of such a creative discussion, which can reveal to us the contemporary demands from the language and content of literature, help us understand the limits of political correctness, and capture the intellectual and political framework within which Michel Houellebecq's work operates.