Incels.is Book Club: "Whatever" Edition

[db-bchr-iv]

The vote has commenced and the book club has decided to read Whatever (Original name: Extension du domaine de la lutte) by Michel Houellebecq.

The debut novel of the French writer, this novel entails the struggles of a depressed and isolated programmer and his incel colleague. The primary theme of this novel is inceldom: sexual revolution of the 1960s extended capitalism to the sexual marketplace. While many "intellectual" critics analyzed the themes of the novel and came to agree with them, they still hate us, the real life extensions of the domain of the struggle presented in the book.

You may download the book here: https://pixeldrain.com/u/9XhPyWgX
I suggest reading it on your mobile phone or ebook reader for maximum comfort and ergonomy.

Reading goal of this week is (til 20/05/2024): The entire book! Normally we'd set a page goal and read until that set page but this is a very short book. You could finish the entire thing in a single day. After that we'll discuss the book here.

Short story of this week is: White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Covers:
I was planning on posting all the published covers of this book in this section to admire but this work only has two and they both suck, so who gives a shit.

 

[copemaxx9002]

The vote has commenced and the book club has decided to read Whatever (Original name: Extension du domaine de la lutte) by Michael Houellebecq to begin.

The debut novel of the French writer, this novel entails the struggles of a depressed and isolated programmer and his incel colleague. The primary theme of this novel is inceldom: sexual revolution of the 1960s extended capitalism to the sexual marketplace. While many "intellectual" critics analyzed the themes of the novel and came to agree with them, they still hate us, the real life extensions of the domain of the struggle presented in the book.

You may download the book here: https://pixeldrain.com/u/9XhPyWgX
I suggest reading it on your mobile phone or ebook reader for maximum comfort and ergonomy.

Reading goal of this week is (til 20/05/2024): The entire book! Normally we'd set a page goal and read until that set page but this is a very short book. You could finish the entire thing in a single day. After that we'll discuss the book here.

Short story of this week is: White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Covers:
I was planning on posting all the published covers of this book in this section to admire but this work only has two and they both suck, so who gives a shit.

reading is a good cope.

 

[Acorn]

No I won't read

 

[copemaxx9002]

No I won't read

reading is a good cope.

 

[Zetta]

Alright.

 

[Zetta]

Bump.

 

[Zetta]

 

[LeFrenchCel]

Based

 

[fantasycel]

You can also find epubs (ereader file format) in both original French and English translation on libgen.rs.

 

[Zetta]

 

[Zetta]

They went on trotting out the platitudes for a good fifteen minutes. How she had the
perfect right to dress as she wished, how this had nothing to do with wanting to
seduce the men, how it was just to be comfortable, to feel good about herself, etc.
The last dismaying dregs of the collapse of feminism. At a certain moment I even
uttered the words aloud: ‘the last dismaying dregs of the collapse of feminism.’ But
they didn’t hear me.

It's as if Elliot himself wrote this.

 

[Friezacel]

My dopamine receptors are too fried to read a book but i loved the movie

 

[Natey Nate]

Soery l cant rwaead

 

[lifesucksandyoudie]

I read spreadsheets because of my OCD and autism

 

[fantasycel]

Trying to read it in its original language but my reading speed got 4 times slower. I’ll read it in English first then French.
Btw is there going to be a new thread to discuss next week it or do we do that in this one?

 

[db-bchr-iv]

Trying to read it in its original language but my reading speed got 4 times slower. I’ll read it in English first then French.
Btw is there going to be a new thread to discuss next week it or do we do that in this one?

We do it in this one.

 

[Antorian]

The movie is brutal

 

[Zetta]

finished it.

 

[Zetta]

qwerty123

 

[Zetta]

 

[fantasycel]

Finished reading the book a few days ago.
My favorite part was when Tisserand tries to go ER after getting cucked by Tyrone at the disco. It reminds me of all the posts in this forum about going ER but it's just us losers with empty threats. It was brutal when he follows Tyrone and pseudo-Veronique and he sees them fucking on the beach in the moonlight. I cannot imagine seeing something like that right in front of me, something that I have always wanted and will never get. The loserdom of Tisserand is further exacerbated by what he does while watching: jerking off and then leaving JFL. I really enjoyed reading the brutal part when the narrator gives his little monologue about how Tisserand will never be the erotic dream of a girl, and that it's completely over. Tisserands death is greatly saddening, a humiliating "car crash" that I believe was probably a suicide.

I didn't really understand the significance of the weird animal stories that the narrator writes. I found the long descriptions of work related things boring as well, though that was probably intentional. I liked when the priest let go of his beliefs of how sex is not important and that there are more things in life so he could fuck that whore, and then she leaves him. It serves him right. The switching between highly verbose and more colloqiual styles is interesting, and gives the book a confusing tone. I also like the unexpected outbursts the narrator has, such as when he contemplates cutting off his penis.

The final part of the book when the narrator falls into a depressive state is slightly relatable. The book has apt descriptions of the disassociation that one gets from the world when in a depressive state, and how time seems to stop or move faster. When he leaves the mental hospital and decides to take a trip, he feels the possibility of joy, and the book ends on a semi-good note. Overall I liked this book and will definitely read it again as it is so short. Hail Saint Tisserand!

 

[benzocel]

i will start reading tomorrow

nice idea this book club thing btw

 

[Bianor]

i will start reading tomorrow

nice idea this book club thing btw

(til 20/05/2024): The entire book!

 

[fantasycel]

It is the 20th niggas, did any of you niggers read the book??

 

[Bianor]

It is the 20th niggas, did any of you niggers read the book??

I’m at chapter 3 (page 4 of the book)

 

[Zetta]

I thought this was a profound novella that earnestly delineated a tangible existential journey of the disaffected modern man (Tisserand and the protagonist are one and the same, as they are obscure, ultimately nameless men who are sexual pariahs) through a world burdened with the complexities of modernity. It is tantamount to a literary update to Albert Camus' "The Stranger", in the same vein as how Guy Debord's "Society of the Spectacle" is a literary, material update to Marx's "Das Kapital". However, in "Whatever", we bear witness to a quasi Meursault from "The Stranger" trying to navigate a socially-retardive world beholden to interconnected communication systems, one that is completely eroded with sexual liberation. In a way, it can almost be seen as an ostensible supplementary work to Guy Debord's "Society of the Spectacle" too, insofar as it displays the experience of an ordinary man who sees through the societal veneer of the spectacle; with a newfound notion of a new class struggle, i.e., the hierarchical transactional dynamics of the sexual marketplace; a further commodification, another afterbirth of not only economic but sexual liberalism.

I thought that the depiction of the dejected modern man, beset with disenchantment when looking past the monotonous societal spectacle and into the absolute truth of societal norms, interpersonal relationships, and sexual hierarchy, and thus being unable to adapt to the proclivities and foibles of the normies around him, to be eerily prescient. Consequently, this social ineptitude extends to him being left with no choice but to reactively retreat inward into nihilistic introspection. Here, he attempts to define and expound upon these experiential manifestations of superficial love and desire, where we see him becoming less capable of experiencing what he's trying to understand—a poetic reflection of the blackpill and inceldom. Additionally, I found the theme of sublimation, wherein the disarrayed modern man, in his inward solemn retreat, sublimates his sexual frustration into creating art—in this case, writing fable-like short stories with symbolic narratives that analyze society and the desires of people around him—to be interesting.

Overall, this was a superlative and prescient novella, that with only 60 pages, keenly observes and vivisects the modern sexual market place and inceldom; while perfectly encapsulating the experience of the modern incel.

 

[Zetta]

To add to that, there is an interesting Schopenhauerian usage of the 'blind will', 'the will', etc. in this novella. Which the former being likened here to the detestable lackless 'direction' of neoliberalism. Illustrating how it's an indifferent force shaping ours lives, leading to existential angst and despair.

Similarly there is a philosophical and symbolic meaning in the beginning of the novella too that begins with the nameless man being unable to find his car. The car being compared to 'the will' or libido, with the loss alluding to the loss of his libido, the will; his existential path being obfuscated, ultimately leading to his depression. It also could be pointed out that the car crash of Tisserand represents a deleterious libidinal drive. In which he loses control of it and dies.

 

[Zetta]

The movie is brutal

I don't think I'm going to watch it; the book was beyond brutal.

 

[fantasycel]

Nice write up on the book @Zetta . I didn't realize the symbolic meaning of the car and Tisserands car crash, and I agree that it was a "eerily prescient" depiction of the dejected modern man. The book showed how isolation and low life satisfaction leads to introspection, and how the hours of deep introspection slowly lead one to a path of insanity. Unfortunate that your high effort write up was ignored in the BOOK CLUB thread where I hoped that there would be quite a few write ups similar to yours sharing different perspectives, but it seems that the incels.is book club experiment has failed.

 

[Zetta]

Nice write up on the book @Zetta . I didn't realize the symbolic meaning of the car and Tisserands car crash, and I agree that it was a "eerily prescient" depiction of the dejected modern man. The book showed how isolation and low life satisfaction leads to introspection, and how the hours of deep introspection slowly lead one to a path of insanity. Unfortunate that your high effort write up was ignored in the BOOK CLUB thread where I hoped that there would be quite a few write ups similar to yours sharing different perspectives, but it seems that the incels.is book club experiment has failed.

We tried.


Anyway, here is my favorite passage:

Obviously, I couldn't come up with anything to say, but I returned to my hotel deep
in thought. It's a fact, I mused to myself, that in societies like ours sex truly
represents a second system of differentiation, completely independent of money;
and as a system of differentiation it functions just as mercilessly. The effects of these
two systems are, furthermore, strictly equivalent. Just like unrestrained economic
liberalism, and for similar reasons, sexual liberalism produces phenomena of
absolute pauperization. Some men make love every day; others five or six times in
their life, or never. Some make love with dozens ofwomen; others with none. It's
what's known as `the law of the market'. In an economic system where unfair
dismissal is prohibited, every person more or less manages to find their place. In a
sexual system where adultery is prohibited, every person more or less manages to
find their bed mate. In a totally liberal sexual system certain people have a varied
and exciting erotic life; others are reduced to masturbation and solitude. Economic
liberalism is an extension of the domain of the struggle, its extension to all ages and
all classes of society. Sexual liberalism is likewise an extension of the domain of the
struggle, its extension to all ages and all classes of society. On the economic plane
Raphael Tisserand belongs in the victors' camp; on the sexual plane in that of the
vanquished. Certain people win on both levels; others lose on both. Businesses fight
over certain young professionals; women fight over certain young men; men fight
over certain young women; the trouble and strife are considerable.

 

[BornToLose]

We tried.


Anyway, here is my favorite passage:

Obviously, I couldn't come up with anything to say, but I returned to my hotel deep
in thought. It's a fact, I mused to myself, that in societies like ours sex truly
represents a second system of differentiation, completely independent of money;
and as a system of differentiation it functions just as mercilessly. The effects of these
two systems are, furthermore, strictly equivalent. Just like unrestrained economic
liberalism, and for similar reasons, sexual liberalism produces phenomena of
absolute pauperization. Some men make love every day; others five or six times in
their life, or never. Some make love with dozens ofwomen; others with none. It's
what's known as `the law of the market'. In an economic system where unfair
dismissal is prohibited, every person more or less manages to find their place. In a
sexual system where adultery is prohibited, every person more or less manages to
find their bed mate. In a totally liberal sexual system certain people have a varied
and exciting erotic life; others are reduced to masturbation and solitude. Economic
liberalism is an extension of the domain of the struggle, its extension to all ages and
all classes of society. Sexual liberalism is likewise an extension of the domain of the
struggle, its extension to all ages and all classes of society. On the economic plane
Raphael Tisserand belongs in the victors' camp; on the sexual plane in that of the
vanquished. Certain people win on both levels; others lose on both. Businesses fight
over certain young professionals; women fight over certain young men; men fight
over certain young women; the trouble and strife are considerable.

I read it a couple of years ago, a great short read. I also highlighted this quote in the thread I made at the time.

 

[Zetta]

I read it a couple of years ago, a great short read. I also highlighted this quote in the thread I made at the time.

I also like the passage where the nameless protagonist, while being patronized and told of the wonders of technology and how it is like a complex brain, allowing more and more people to connect, responds by pointing out that this overlooks the fact that a brain functions best when all these atomized nodes are working towards a collective purpose, a unified goal. A very poignant critique of individualistic liberalism.

Brief applause. Some movement is registered around J.-Y Fréhaut; he turns on his
heel with a satisfied air. I know this young man slightly; we arrived at the firm at the
same time, three years ago; we used to share the same office. We'd talked about
civilization one time. He claimed - and in a sense he truly believed it - that the
increase in the flow of information within society was in itself a good thing. That
freedom was nothing other than the possibility of establishing various
interconnections between individuals, projects, organizations, services. According to
him the maximum amount of freedom coincided with the maximum amount of
potential choice. In a metaphor borrowed from the mechanics of solids, he called
these choices degrees of freedom.
We were, I remember, sitting near the central processing unit. The air conditioning
was emitting a slight hum. He was comparing society to a brain, as it were, and its
individuals to so many cerebral cells for which it is, in effect, desirable to establish
the maximum number of interconnections. But the analogy stopped there. For this
was a liberal, and he was scarcely a partisan of what is so necessary to the brain: a
unifying project.

 

[Zetta]

i will start reading tomorrow

nice idea this book club thing btw

>he never read it

 

[Zetta]

I didn't really understand the significance of the weird animal stories that the narrator writes. I found the long descriptions of work related things boring as well

I'd agree, they messed up the pacing and overall flow of the book.

 

[weaselbomber]

i recommend On the Heights of Despair by Emil Cioran, my favourite philosopher

 

[Emba]

Whatever

 

[benzocel]

i recommend On the Heights of Despair by Emil Cioran, my favourite philosopher

i really like the trouble with being born also, the prose is so fluid and poetic

 

[Mentally lost cel]

The vote has commenced and the book club has decided to read Whatever (Original name: Extension du domaine de la lutte) by Michel Houellebecq.

The debut novel of the French writer, this novel entails the struggles of a depressed and isolated programmer and his incel colleague. The primary theme of this novel is inceldom: sexual revolution of the 1960s extended capitalism to the sexual marketplace. While many "intellectual" critics analyzed the themes of the novel and came to agree with them, they still hate us, the real life extensions of the domain of the struggle presented in the book.

You may download the book here: https://pixeldrain.com/u/9XhPyWgX
I suggest reading it on your mobile phone or ebook reader for maximum comfort and ergonomy.

Reading goal of this week is (til 20/05/2024): The entire book! Normally we'd set a page goal and read until that set page but this is a very short book. You could finish the entire thing in a single day. After that we'll discuss the book here.

Short story of this week is: White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Covers:
I was planning on posting all the published covers of this book in this section to admire but this work only has two and they both suck, so who gives a shit.

Notes from underground

 

[Repulsive123]

Soery l cant rwaead

 

[Zetta]

i really like the trouble with being born also, the prose is so fluid and poetic

Will check out

 

[Bianor]

i recommend On the Heights of Despair by Emil Cioran, my favourite philosopher

 

[Bianor]

 

[Zetta]

Whatever

 

[Bianor]

i really like the trouble with being born also, the prose is so fluid and poetic

Will check out

 

[Zetta]

Thanks