The “sacred monsters” of French literature Houellebecq and BHL, who see the world from completely opposite angles, unexpectedly find common ground. “Marianne”, October 4, 2008

Public Enemies - correspondence between Michel Houellebecq and Bernard-Henri Levy. This collection, composed of 28 letters, was published by Flammarion and Grasset in 2008. The topics that the authors touch on in their letters to each other range from literature and literary careers to philosophy and religion, from the place of the artist in modern society to the prospects for the development of modern society . The authors do not ignore political issues. They spend quite a lot of time discussing the situation in modern Russia. Michel Houellebecq provides details that illuminate his spiritual and literary growth, mentions the authors who influenced him: Blaise Pascal, Emmanuel Kant, Arthur Schopenhauer, Friedrich Nietzsche, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Franz Kafka. The role of the Internet in modern society is also in the field of interests of the authors. The correspondence covers the period from January to July 2008.

The authors of this book have much in common and much in common. Michel Houellebecq achieved everything on his own. He is unsociable and taciturn, speaks enthusiastically about Russia and loves to be here. His philosophical and fantastic novels "Elementary Particles", "Platform" and "The Possibility of an Island" are full of hopeless pessimism and shockingly frank scenes. Publicist, philosopher, writer Bernard-Henri Levy comes from a wealthy family, loves to shine with eloquence, he harshly criticizes Russia for totalitarianism and for Chechnya. The French press simply calls him BHL (which indicates his cult status), while attacking him on any occasion - just like Houellebecq. The heated debate between two very different “enemies of society” is clear confirmation: extremes meet. Translation from French by Ekaterina Kozhevnikova