Platform Michel Houellebecq Quotes

Anything can happen in life, especially nothing.

Not having anything around to read is dangerous: you have to content yourself with life itself, and that can lead you to take risks.

It is in our relations with other people that we gain a sense of ourselves; it's that, pretty much, that makes relations with other people unbearable.

People are suspicious of single men on vacation, after they get to a certain age: they assume that they're selfish, and probably a bit pervy. I can't say they're wrong.

What about you, Michel, what are you going to do here?' The response closest to the truth was probably something like 'Nothing'; but it's always difficult to explain that kind of thing to an active person.

În viaţă se poate întâmpla orice, şi mai ales nimic.

In my life, I had known suffering, oppression, anxiety; I had never known boredom. I could see no objection to the endless, imbecile repetition of sameness.

...за мен културата винаги е била необходима компенсация за нещастието в живота ни.

We are probably wrong to suspect that each individual has some secret passion, some mystery, some weakness; if Jean-Yves's father had had to express his innermost convictions, the profound meaning he ascribed to life, he could probably have cited nothing more than a slight disappointment.

Men live alongside one another like cattle; it is a miracle if once in a while they manage to share a bottle of booze.

I continued to wonder what exactly I had done to deserve a woman like Valerie. Nothing, probably. I observe the world as it unfurls, I thought; proceeding empirically, in good faith, I observe it; I can do no more than observe.

When men have no vices, she thought, it's very difficult to guess what might make them happy.

L'absence d'envie de vivre, hélas, ne suffit pas pour avoir envie de mourir.

Of course, we can distinguish between males and females; we can also, if we choose, distinguish between different age categories; but any more advanced distinction comes close to pedantry, probably a result of boredom. A creature that is bored elaborates distinctions and hierarchies. According to Hutchinson and Rawlins, the development of systems of hierarchical dominance within animal societies does not correspond to any practical necessity, nor to any selective advantage; it simply constitutes a means of combating the crushing boredom of life in the heart of nature.

I was lucky to meet you, yes.' 'Me too . . .' she said, looking me in the eyes. 'I was lucky too. The men I know are a disaster, not one of them believes in love; so they give you this big spiel about friendship, affection, a whole load of stuff that doesn't commit them to anything. I've got to the point where I can't stand the word 'friendship' any more, it makes me physically sick. Or there's the other lot, the ones who get married, who get hitched as early as possible and think about nothing but their careers afterwards. You obviously weren't one of those; but I also immediately sensed that you would never talk to me about friendship, that you would never be that vulgar. From the very beginning I hoped we would sleep together, that something important would happen; but it was possible that nothing would happen, in fact it was more than likely.' She stopped and sighed in irritation.

Este o senzaţie stranie: să simţi cum viaţa ţi se schimbă total; e suficient să stai pe loc, să nu faci nimic, să percepi senzaţia de schimbare.

Cand iubirea a disparut, viata devine oarecum conventionala si silnica; pastrezi o forma umana, comportamentele obisnuite, un soi de structura, dar sufletul, cum se spune, e gol.

Elämä ilman lukemista on vaarallista, silloin on pakko tyytyä elämiseen ja siinä on omat riskinsä.

Ihmistä voi arvostella monestakin syystä, mutta yhtä asiaa häneltä ei voi riistää: hän on kiistatta nerokas nisäkäs.

Als ik de liefde niet heb begrepen, wat heb ik er dan aan om de rest te begrijpen?

Vivre sans lecture c'est dangereux, il faut se contenter de la vie, ça peut amener à prendre des risques.

It’s mostly that Kate, standing on the platform,started crying, not really crying, some tears ran down her face; she was looking at me, she looked at me for over a minute until the train departed, her eyes didn’t leave mine for a second and at a particular moment, in spite of herself, tears started flowing, and I didn’t move, didn’t jump on to the platform, I waited for the doors to close again. For that I deserve death, and even more serious punishments; I can’t hide the truth: I will end my life unhappy, cantankerous and alone, and I will have deserved it. How could a man who had known Kate turn away from her? It’s incomprehensible.

A source of permanent, accessible pleasure, our genitals exist. The god who created our misfortune, who made us short-lived, vain and cruel, has also provided this form of meagre compensation. If we couldn't have sex from time to time, what would life be? A futile struggle against joints that stiffen, caries that form. All of which, moreover, is as uninteresting as humanly possible - the collagen which makes muscles stiffen, the appearance of microbic cavities in the gums.

Se pare că alte fiinţe umane aparent asemănătoare cu mine nu simt nicio emoţie în faţa unui trup de femeie, ceea ce mie îmi provoca şi încă îmi provoacă uneori transe irepresibile. În cele mai multe împrejurări ale vieţii mele am fost aproape la fel de liber ca un aspirator.

Neindoielnic omul nu e facut pentru fericire, ca sa aiba intr-adevar posibilitatea practica de a fi fericit omul ar trebui sa se transforme, sa se transforme fizic. Cu ce poate fi comparat Dumnzeu? Mai intai, evident, cu sexul femeilor; dar si, poate, cu aburii dintr-o baie turceasca. Oricum, cu ceva care sa faca spiritul posibil cand trupul exulta de bucurie si de placere, iar orice teama e abolita. Acum sunt sigur ca spiritul inca nu s-a nascut, ca vrea sa se nasca si ca nasterea lui va fi dificila, ca deocamdata avem despre el doar o idee trunchiata si nociva.

Gdy przejechaliśmy dwa kilometry, dotarło do mnie, że tym razem już naprawdę nie mam nic do czytania; do końca wycieczki będę musiał przeżyć bez absolutnie żadnego tekstu drukowanego, którym bym się mógł odizolować. Rozejrzałem się dookoła, serce zaczęło mi szybciej bić, świat zewnętrzny wydał mi się nagle o wiele bliższy.

That's precisely what's so extraordinary about you, you enjoy giving pleasure. Offering your body as an object of pleasure, giving pleasure unselfishly: that's what Westerners don't know how to do any more. They've completely lost the sense of giving. Try as they might, they no longer feel sex as something natural. Not only are they ashamed of their own bodies, which aren't up to porn standards, but for the same reasons they no longer feel truly attracted to the body of the other. It's impossible to make love without a certain abandon, without accepting, at least temporarily, the state of being in a state of dependency, of weakness. Sentimental adulation and sexual obsession have the same roots, both proceed from some degree of selflessness; it's not a domain in which you can find fulfilment without losing yourself. We have become cold, rational, acutely conscious of our individual existence and our rights; more than anything, we want to avoid alienation and dependence; on top of that we're obsessed with health and hygiene: these are hardly ideal conditions in which to make love.

Oferecer o corpo como objeto agradavável, dar gratuitamente prazer: é isso o que os ocidentais não sabem mais fazer. Perderam totalmente o senso da doação. Podem até se esforçar, mas não conseguem mais sentir o sexo como algo natural. Não apenas têm vergonha dos próprios corpos, que não estão à altura dos que vemos nos filmes pornôs, mas também, pelo mesmo motivo, não sentem nenhuma atração pelo corpo do outro. É impossivel fazer amor sem um certo abandono, sem a aceitação ao mesmo tempo temporária de um certo estado de dependência e fraqueza. A exaltação sentimental e a obsessão sexual têm a mesma origem, as duas nascem de um certo esquecimento de si mesmo; neste terreno, a gente não pode se realizar sem se perder. As pessoas se tornam frias, racionais, extremamente conscientes da sua existência individual e dos seus direitos (...) realmente não são as condições ideais para fazer amor".

Spre deosebire de alte popoare asiatice, tailandezii nu cred în fantome şi manifestă puţin interes pentru soarta cadavrelor. Cele mai multe sunt duse direct la groapa comună. Cum nu voi lăsa instrucţiuni precise, la fel se va-ntâmpla şi cu mine. Cineva, foarte departe, în Franţa, va completa un act de deces, va bifa o căsuţă într-un formular de stare civilă. Câţiva vânzători ambulanţi obişnuiţi să mă vadă prin cartier vor clătina din cap. Camera mea va fi închiriată altui călător. Apoi mă vor uita, mă vor uita repede...

În afara actului sexual, sunt puţine clipe în viaţă când trupul exultă de simpla bucurie de a trăi, când se umple de bucurie prin simplul fapt al prezenţei sale în lume. Ziua de întâi ianuarie a fost plină de asemenea clipe. Păstrez doar amintirea acelei plenitudini, nimic altceva. Probabil c-am înotat, ne-am încălzit la soare şi-am făcut dragoste. Nu cred să fi vorbit ori să ne fi plimbat pe insulă. Îmi amintesc mirosul pe care-l avea Valérie, gustul sării ce i se usca pe sex. Îmi amintesc c-am adormit în ea, şi c-am fost trezit de contracţiile vaginului ei.

A cockroach appeared just as I was about to get into the bath. It was just the right time for a cockroach to make an appearance in my life; couldn't have been better. It scuttled quickly across the porcelain, the little bugger; I looked around for a slipper, but actually I knew my chances of squashing him were small. What was the point in trying? And what good was Oon, in spite of her marvellously elastic vagina? We were already doomed. Cockroaches copulate gracelessly, with no apparent pleasure; but they also do it repeatedly and their genetic mutations are rapid and efficient. There is absolutely nothing we can do about cockroaches.

As I finished my rice, I sketched out the plot of a pornographic adventure film called The Massage Room. Sirien, a young girl from northern Thailand, falls hopelessly in love with Bob, an American student who winds up in the massage parlor by accident, dragged there by his buddies after a fatefully boozy evening. Bob doesn't touch her, he's happy just to look at her with his lovely, pale-blue eyes and tell her about his hometown - in North Carolina, or somewhere like that. They see each other several more times, whenever Sirien isn't working, but, sadly, Bob must leave to finish his senior year at Yale. Ellipsis. Sirien waits expectantly while continuing to satisfy the needs of her numerous clients. Though pure at heart, she fervently jerks off and sucks paunchy, mustached Frenchmen (supporting role for Gerard Jugnot), corpulent, bald Germans (supporting role for some German actor). Finally, Bob returns and tries to free her from her hell - but the Chinese mafia doesn't see things in quite the same light. Bob persuades the American ambassador and the president of some humanitarian organization opposed to the exploitation of young girls to intervene (supporting role for Jane Fonda). What with the Chinese mafia (hint at the Triads) and the collusion of Thai generals (political angle, appeal to democratic values), there would be a lot of fight scenes and chase sequences through the streets of Bangkok. At the end of the day, Bob carries her off. But in the penultimate scene, Sirien gives, for the first time, an honest account of the extent of her sexual experience. All the cocks she has sucked as a humble massage parlor employee, she has sucked in the anticipation, in the hope of sucking Bob's cock, into which all the others were subsumed - well, I'd have to work on the dialogue. Cross fade between the two rivers (the Chao Phraya, the Delaware). Closing credits. For the European market, I already had line in mind, along the lines of "If you liked The Music Room, you'll love The Massage Room.

Cand ajung la o anume varsta si experienta, barbatii prefera sa evite iubirea, li se pare mai simplu sa mearga la curve. Ma rog, nu la curvele din occident, nu merita, sunt adevarate gunoaie umane. Si oricum nu in timpul anului, nu au timp, muncesc prea mult. Drept urmare cei mai multi nu fac nimic, iar unii din cand in cand isi ofera un pic de turism sexual. Si-asta-i cazul cel mai fericit: sa mergi la o curva inseamna sa pastrezi totusi un minim contact uman, multi insa considera mai simplu sa se masturbeze pe internet privind filme porno. «Inteleg», a spus ea dupa un lung rastimp de tacere. «Inteleg ce vrei sa spui, nu crezi totusi ca barbatii sau femeile se pot schimba?» In trecut nu ne putem intoarce, nu cred. Ce ne-asteapta-n viitor? Femeile vor deveni probabil tot mai asemanatoare cu barbatii, pentru un moment raman interesate de seductie, barbatilor insa li se falfaie de seductie, ei vor in primul rand sa reguleze. Seductia nu-i intereseaza decat pe cativa insi fara o viata profesionala pasionanta, in general fara o viata interesanta. Pe masura ce viata profesionala si proiectele personale vor insemna mai mult pentru ele, femeilor li se va parea mai simplu si lor sa plateasca pentru sex, se vor orienta si ele spre turismul sexual; femeile se pot adapta la valorile masculine, uneori cu greu, dar, pot s-o faca, istoria a dovedit-o.

Innostukseni pilluihin ei ole heikentynyt, koen sen yhdeksi viimeisiä tunnistettavia inhimillisiä piirteitäni, muista en ole niinkään varma.

თავს ვიმტრევდი, რომ რამე მეპასუხა,.. ბოლოს მაინც გადავწყვიტე რაღაც მეთქვა. - ჰო, არა?... - აი, ასე ვცდილობდო, მეჩვენებინა, რომ ცხოვრებას მეტ-ნაკლებად ვიცნობდი

Jean-Yves looked up at his mother's face, her greying chignon, her harsh features: it was difficult to feel a rush of tenderness, of affection for this woman; as far back as he could remember, she had never really been one for hugs; it was equally difficult to imagine her in the role of a sensual lover, a slut. He suddenly realised that his father must have been bored shitless his whole life. He felt terribly shocked by this, his hands tensed on the edge of the table: this time it was irreparable, it was definitive. In despair, he tried to recall a moment when he had seen his father beaming, happy, genuinely glad to be alive.

Wydrążyłem dziurkę w piasku, wsunąłem tam oba dzieła; teraz problem polegał na tym, że musiałem poszukać sobie czegoś do czytania. Zycie bez czytania jest niebezpieczne, trzeba zadowolić się samym życiem, a to niesie ze sobą pewne ryzyko.

she had graduated from the Beaux Arts in Caen. She worked entirely on her body, she explained to me; I looked at her anxiously as she opened her portfolio. I was hoping she wasn't going to show me photos of plastic surgery on her toes or anything like that - I'd had it up to here with things like that. But no, she simply handed me some postcards which she had had made, with the imprint of her pussy dipped in different coloured paints. I chose a turquoise and a mauve; I was a little sorry I hadn't brought photos of my prick to return the favour.

Leggermente a disagio per questa confessione, Jean-Yves si voltò verso di me: “E tu, Michel, cosa conti di fare qui?”. La risposta più vicina alla realtà era sicuramente qualcosa sul genere: “Niente”, ma è sempre un po’ difficile spiegare questo tipo di cose alle persone attive.

È facile, qui, avere...ehm...dei figli?" gli domandai. Avevo la sensazione che la mia domanda fosse leggermente incongrua, un po' come se gli avessi chiesto se fosse facile comprare un cane. A dire il vero avevo sempre provato una certa ripugnanza per i bambini; per quel che ne sapevo si trattava di mostriciattoli orrendi, che cacavano smodatamente e strillavano in maniera insopportabile; l'idea di farne uno non mi era mai passata per la mente. Però sapevo che c'era gente che li faceva; se poi ne fossero soddisfatti non lo so, sta di fatto che non osavano lamentarsene.

Mio padre è morto un anno fa. Io non credo alla teoria secondo cui si diventa veramente adulti solo alla morte dei genitori; veramente adulti non lo si diventa mai. Davanti alla sua bara ho avuto pensieri incresciosi. Si era goduto la vita, quel vecchio porco; se l’era spassata alla grande. “Ti sei riprodotto…” gli dissi fra me e me con una certa foga, “hai ficcato il tuo grosso uccello nella fica di mia madre”. Diciamo pure che ero piuttosto teso: non capita tutti i giorni di avere un morto in famiglia. Il cadavere m’ero rifiutato di vederlo. Ho quarant'anni, e di cadaveri ne ho già visti abbastanza; adesso preferisco evitare. Che poi è il motivo per cui non ho mai voluto animali domestici

All in all, airport shops still form part of the national culture; but a part that is safe, attenuated, and wholly adapted to global consumption. For the traveler at the end of his journey, it is a halfway house, less interesting and less frightening than the rest of the country. I had an inkling that, more and more, the whole world would come to resemble an airport.

Îmi plăceau cataloagele turistice, caracterul lor abstract, felul lor de a reduce locurile lumii la un șir de tarife și fericiri posibile: apreciam în special sistemul de notare cu steluțe, indicând intensitatea fericirii la care erai îndreptățit să speri.

Înțelegeam din ce în ce mai puțin cum poți să fii atașat de o idee, de o țară, în general de altceva decât o persoană.

Nu avea un discurs de psihiatru tipic, în fine, era suportabil. Îmi amintesc că-mi sugera să mă „eliberez de legături”; părea mai curând o trăncăneală budistă. Ce să eliberez? Toată ființa mea era o legătură.

Când iubirea a dispărut, viața devine oarecum convențională și silnică. Păstrezi o formă umană, comportamentele obișnuite, un soi de structură; dar sufletul, cum se spune, e gol.

Ce n'est pas très difficile de travailler dans un bureau, il suffit d'être un peu méticuleux, de prendre des décisions rapidement, et de s'y tenir. J'avais vite compris qu'il n'est pas forcément nécessaire de prendre /la meilleur décision/, mais qu'il suffit, dans la plupart des cas, de prendre /une décision quelconque/, à condition de la prendre rapidement; enfin, si on travaille dans le secteur public.

Life without anything to read is dangerous: you have to content yourself with life and that can lead you to take risks.

Tout peut arriver dans la vie, et surtout rien.

For my part, I had no objection to sex being subject to market forces.

Anything can happen in life, especially nothing.

Uno cobra conciencia de sí mismo en su relación con el prójimo; y por eso la relación con el prójimo es insoportable.

De pronto me di cuenta, incómodo, de que pensaba que la sociedad en la que vivía era algo así como un medio natural —digamos una sabana o una jungla— a cuyas leyes había tenido que adaptarme.

La gente necesita sexo, eso es todo, lo que pasa es que no se atreve a confesarlo.

Podría haberme pasado horas mirándola. Era un placer fácil, inocente, eternamente alegre; una pura promesa de felicidad.

Cuanto más monoteísta es una religión, piénselo, querido señor, más inhumana y cruel resulta; y de todas las religiones, el islam es la que impone un monoteísmo más radical.

Nada es más útil para el hombre que el hombre mismo

I think," he mumbled eventually, "I think that in order to solve the problem it is important to define it and to have some sense of what has caused it." Another empty phrase, thought Jean-Yves furiously; not only empty, but, as it happened, untrue. The causes were clearly part of general shifts in society that were beyond their powers to change. They had to adapt to this new business climate, that was all. And how could they adapt to it? This moron clearly hadn't the faintest idea.