Platform (novel)
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| "There seems to be a near perfect match between the Western men, who are unappreciated and get no respect in their own countries, and the Thai women, who would be happy to find someone who simply does his job and hopes to come home to a pleasant family life after work. Most Western women do not want such a boring husband. One easy way to see this is to look at any publication containing [[personal ad|‘personal’ ads]]. The Western women want someone who looks a certain way, and who has certain ‘social skills’ such as dancing and clever conversation, someone who is interesting and exciting and seductive. Now go to my catalogue, and look at what the girls say they want. It’s all pretty simple, really. Over and over they state that they are happy to settle down FOREVER with a man who is willing to hold down a steady job and be a loving and understanding HUSBAND and FATHER. That will get you exactly nowhere with an American girl! As Western women do not appreciate men, as they do not value traditional family life, marriage is not the right thing for them to do. I’m helping modern Western women to avoid what they despise." --Cham Sawanasee in ''Platform'' | "There seems to be a near perfect match between the Western men, who are unappreciated and get no respect in their own countries, and the Thai women, who would be happy to find someone who simply does his job and hopes to come home to a pleasant family life after work. Most Western women do not want such a boring husband. One easy way to see this is to look at any publication containing [[personal ad|‘personal’ ads]]. The Western women want someone who looks a certain way, and who has certain ‘social skills’ such as dancing and clever conversation, someone who is interesting and exciting and seductive. Now go to my catalogue, and look at what the girls say they want. It’s all pretty simple, really. Over and over they state that they are happy to settle down FOREVER with a man who is willing to hold down a steady job and be a loving and understanding HUSBAND and FATHER. That will get you exactly nowhere with an American girl! As Western women do not appreciate men, as they do not value traditional family life, marriage is not the right thing for them to do. I’m helping modern Western women to avoid what they despise." --Cham Sawanasee in ''Platform'' | ||
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| - | "'Since the appearance of [[Islam]], nothing. An intellectual vacuum, an absolute void. We've become a country of flea-ridden beggars. Beggars covered in fleas, that's what we are. Scum, scum!...'(with a wave, he shooed away some boys who had come to beg for small change). 'You must remember, cher monsieur,' (he spoke five foreign languages fluently: French, German, English, Spanish and Russian), 'that Islam was born deep in the desert amid scorpions, camels and wild beasts of every order. Do you know what I call [[Muslim]]s? The [[loser]]s of the [[Sahara]]. That's what they deserve to be called. Do you think Islam could have been born in such a magnificent place?' (with genuine feeling, he motioned again to the [[Nile]] valley). 'No, monsieur. Islam could only have been born in a stupid desert, among filthy [[Bedouins]] who had nothing better to do - pardon me - than to [[bugger]] camels. The closer a religion comes to [[monotheism]] - consider this carefully, cher monsieur- the more cruel and inhuman it becomes; and of all religions, Islam imposes the most radical monotheism. From its beginnings, it has been characterised by an uninterrupted series of wars of invasions and massacres; never for as long as it exists, will peace reign in the world. Neither, in [[Muslim countries]], will intellect and talent find a home; if there were [[Arab mathematicians]], [[Arab poetry|poets]] and [[Arab scientists|scientists]], it is simply because they lost their faith. Simply reading the [[Koran]], one cannot help but be struck by the regrettable mood of [[tautology]] which typifies the work: '[[There is no other God but God alone]]', etc. You won't get very far with nonsense like that, you have to admit. Far from being an attempt at abstraction, as it is sometimes portrayed, the move towards monotheism is nothing more than a shift towards [[mindlessness]]." | ||
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| - | "The problem with Muslims, he told me, was that [[the paradise promised by the prophet]] already existed here on earth: there were places on earth where young, available, [[lascivious]] girls danced for the pleasure of men, where one could become drunk on [[nectar]] and listen to [[celestial music]]; there were about twenty of them within five hundred metres of our hotel . . . To gain admission, there was absolutely no need to fulfil the [[seven duties of a Muslim]], nor to engage in [[holy war]]; all you had to do was pay a couple of dollars." | ||
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Revision as of 19:57, 29 April 2019
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"There seems to be a near perfect match between the Western men, who are unappreciated and get no respect in their own countries, and the Thai women, who would be happy to find someone who simply does his job and hopes to come home to a pleasant family life after work. Most Western women do not want such a boring husband. One easy way to see this is to look at any publication containing ‘personal’ ads. The Western women want someone who looks a certain way, and who has certain ‘social skills’ such as dancing and clever conversation, someone who is interesting and exciting and seductive. Now go to my catalogue, and look at what the girls say they want. It’s all pretty simple, really. Over and over they state that they are happy to settle down FOREVER with a man who is willing to hold down a steady job and be a loving and understanding HUSBAND and FATHER. That will get you exactly nowhere with an American girl! As Western women do not appreciate men, as they do not value traditional family life, marriage is not the right thing for them to do. I’m helping modern Western women to avoid what they despise." --Cham Sawanasee in Platform |
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Platform is a 2001 novel by French writer Michel Houellebecq (translated from the French by Frank Wynne). It has received both great praise and great criticism, most notably for the novel's apparent condoning of sex tourism and anti-Muslim feelings.
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Plot summary
The story is the first-person narrative of a fictional character named Michel Renault (undoubtedly closely based on the author), a Parisian civil servant who, after the death of his father, engages in sexual tourism in Thailand, where he meets a travel agent named Valérie. Valerie and Renault begin an affair, and, after moving back to France, hatch a plan with Valerie's boss (who works in the travel industry in the Aurore group, an allusion to the real-life Accor group) to launch a new variety of package holiday implicitly or explicitly aimed at European sex tourists. Single men would be targeted, and cheap accommodation and flights made available for Thailand, with the advertising making it clear that Thai women would also be easily available. However, the plans are leaked to the press, resulting in an outburst of moral outrage in the French media. Valerie and Renault decide to continue with their plan by altering the advertising they had planned to downplay the 'sex tourism' aspect, but before they can do so, whilst on a fact finding mission in Thailand, Muslim extremists commit a terrorist act (eerily similar to the Bali Bombing which occurred after the novel was published) in which Valerie is killed.
Literary significance & criticism
The novel has been criticized for its controversial content, including sexual elements some consider to be obscene, such as bisexuality and polyamory, and opinions some consider offensive to Islam.
Extracts from the novel, together with an interview he accorded the magazine Lire led to charges being brought against him by France's Human Rights League, the Mecca-based World Islamic League and the mosques of Paris and Lyon in a trial reminiscent of Britain's Salman Rushdie affair. A panel of three judges, delivering their verdict to a packed Paris courtroom, acquitted Houellebecq of the charges of provoking racial hatred, ascribing Houellebecq's opinions to the legitimate right of criticizing religions.
Trivia
The book mentions The Hollow.
See also
