Notorious as a novelist, Michel Houellebecq was first known in France as a poet, and in many ways it is through poetry that he found his novelist's voice. The recipient of the prestigious poetry prize Prix de Flore, this collection of prose and verse pieces investigate issues of alienation, individualism, and disillusionment—themes that will be familiar to Houellebecq readers—while subtly adopting a variety of tones and styles, revealing facets of the author unknown until now in the English-speaking world. Deeply melancholic and despairing at the inhumanity of the present-day world, yet brimming with vitality and invention, these timely, poignant poems clear away the dross of hollow optimism and call for an end to the nightmare of modern existence.