Annhilation by Michel Houellebecq

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…in the end he couldn’t argue with Cecile because Cecile was preferable, she was just a better-quality human being. *

* When you come to questions of this kind ( and sooner or later we always end up examining questions of this kind), we must take into account the fact that one always places oneself at the exact center of the moral world, that one always considers oneself as a being that is neither good nor bad, morally neutral ( I mean in the true heart, the secret nook of one’s being, because officially one always describes oneself as ‘quite a good guy’, but deep down one is not deceived, deep down one always has that secret scale that places one at the exact center of the moral world). Thus, a methodological bias is created in the observation, and a translation process proves necessary almost every time.

 

…the vines didn’t look like much this time of year: twisted, black and mediocre, rather ugly, trying to preserve their essence throughout the winter, it was impossible to imagine such wretched little things might later give birth to wine, the world was strangely organized, Paul said as he strolled through the penny-bun mushrooms. If God really existed, as Cecile thought, he could have provided more clues about his opinions, God was a very poor communicator, such amateurism would not be allowed in a professional context. [112-13]