Michel Houellebecq’s second novel “Les Particules Élémentaires” was my second major translation. At the time, Houellebecq was a virtual unknown (even in France). In January 2000, Ravi Mirchandani  asked me  to read it and the first sentence of my  reader’s report for  Heinemann read: “This is an extraordinary novel, in every possible sense of that word. Part dialectic, part polemic, part digest history of the twentieth century, it is funny, intelligent, infuriating, didactic, touching, visceral, explicit and, possibly, dangerous.”  But […]

Categories: Awards & Nominations, French, Houellebecq • Tags: Awards, France, French, Heinemann, Houellebecq, IMPAC Prize, Nominations, Translation