Whatever
- Author: Michel Houellebecq
- Year of publication: 2018
- Translator: George Ekizashvili
- Page quantity: 156
- Cover designer / Illustrator: Manana Kobakhidze
- Language: Georgian
- Category: FICTION
- ISBN: 978-9941-9587-0-0
Michel Houellebecq’s first novel, Whatever (1994), marked the beginning of a provocative and clear-sighted body of work that explores the excesses of Western society. In this book, Houellebecq portrays a disillusioned IT executive, immersed in a dull and lonely existence. Through this character, he offers a scathing critique of economic liberalism and its extension into the private sphere: just like in the job market, the “struggle” also applies to romantic and sexual relationships, governed by competition and exclusion. With a dry, detached style, sometimes tinged with dark humor, Whatever introduces the major Houellebecqian themes: emotional misery, disenchantment with the world, and the search for meaning in an individualistic society. This short but striking novel revealed a writer with a unique voice—often controversial, but always lucid.