Not sure where we are being lead here? Except down the garden path and into your worst nightmare? A world controlled Islamic fundamentalists and stone age culture? i.e. Afghanistan when we first sent our forces there to take on and defeat the Taliban?

Incidentally and off topic. J Bower, I'd have thought I'd explained myself so that a schoolkid gets it, as like a near neighbor, some do.

Now you and I know we cannot exceed four post on anyone thread in 24 hours and as much as I'd like to help you understand something too simple to get?

I suggest you ask your kids to help you out, given I'm prohibited from doing so by the rules applicable to this site and everyone posting on it!
Alan B.

I have now read all of Houellebecq and this article is right on the money. Yes you have to deal with the endless nihilism of the characters and their haunted lives but this is true of so much of modern European life. It is important to look into the abyss even though it gets a bit much. I thought Submission was brilliant and worrying because it showed that the characters nihilism demonstrated a void into which all kinds of horrible things could take residence.