Platform

Bustling with the misanthropy that has gained him notoriety as a bete noire in France, the author of "The Elementary Particles" turns his attention to the poisonous effects of Western culture on the rest of the world. Michel Renault is a human void. Following the death of a father he barely knew, he endures his civil service job while eking out an existence of prepackaged pleasure, hollow friendships, TV dinners, and pornography. On a group holiday to Thailand, however, he meets the shyly compelling Valerie, who soon pursues an agenda that Michel himself could never have thought possible: his own humanization. 362p.