The word 'platform' connotes a set of ideas or an edge, and both are evident in Michael Houellebecq's novel. Michel is a fortysomething civil servant who numbly skims through life with minimal meaningful human contact until he books a trip to Thailand. Upon returning, he strikes up a relationship with tripmate Valérie, who, along with her boss Jean-Yves, is trying to corner the market on midprice leisure travel. Michel helps them along with his ideas on sex tourism. Sex—plentiful and graphically portrayed— is a predominant theme in this cynical, depressing work about the state of the Western world, although the analysis isn't far off the mark. Some passages hardly seem connected and the development of female characters is somewhat lacking. It might be highly offensive to certain groups: Houellebecq was put on trial for inciting racial hatred based on an interview about the book. Nonetheless, since it jolts the reader to see the world in a new light, Platform is an interesting read on the list of 1001 books you must read before you die.

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