Submission is the story of Francois, a professor at the Sorbonne specializing in the work of JK Huysmans. He is a comfortable hedonist, a man who likes good food and enjoys a succession of girlfriends primarily drawn from the ranks of his students. He is somewhat aware that there should be more to life than mere enjoyment, with both his beloved Huysmans and his own aging flesh constantly reminding him, but any change would require commitment - a conversion - and that he cannot make. At least, not until an Islamist victory in the French elections puts the choice in starker terms, and Francois discovers that far from being incompatible with his yearnings for material comfort and security, submission may in fact be the key to a safe domesticity that fulfills his strongest desires, as limited as they are.
Houellebecq's novel is ambiguous in an intriguing rather than a frustrating manner. His near-future history is reasonably plausible, at least in its broad outlines. His Frenchified Islam is vague in its tenets - none of the newly converted Muslims seem to have any reluctance to consume alcohol, nor is it clearly explained where all these now polygamous men are going to get their supply of willing wives. Most of all, the author's own attitude towards his protagonist's thoughts and actions is unclear - Francois is not nearly as autobiographical a creation as Huysmans' Durtal. The result is an engrossing portrait of postmodern life, open to multiple interpretations.
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