Annihilation

Annihilation (in French, Anéantir) is a novel by Michel Houellebecq, published on 7 January 2022 by the Flammarion publishing house. Its first print run was around 300,000 copies. Set between late 2026 and 2027, on the eve of a presidential election, it portrays a France in a period of decline, though with some signs of economic revival, and in which the gap between the ruling classes and the population has reached unprecedented levels.

The protagonist is Paul Raison, a senior civil servant in the office of the Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Juge, with whom he maintains a close friendship. The political climate is marked by terrorist attacks whose authors and motives remain unknown, highly sophisticated and deliberately mysterious. Meanwhile, Paul's father, Édouard, a former member of the domestic intelligence services, suffers a stroke that leaves him unable to speak; he regains the ability to communicate by blinking, and his illness brings his children, Paul, Cécile and Aurélien, back together, after a relationship that had grown strained. The novel blends espionage and politics, mystery and romanticism, and departs from the author's usual ironic tone in favour of a more compassionate and unhurried one. At over seven hundred pages, its length is unusual within his output.

The book explores themes of faith, love, illness, and the experience of death and suffering. The narrative also follows the political trajectory of a government candidate loosely modelled on media personalities, alongside a young far-right candidate who closes in on the front-runners in the polls.

The reception was largely positive. Jean Birnbaum in Le Monde described it as a political thriller that veers into metaphysical meditation, and Étienne Campion in Marianne called it a profound novel about illness and agony. Newspapers on opposing sides of the political spectrum, Le Figaro and Libération, agreed in praising its storyline. Mediapart, however, was harshly critical, and left-leaning publications such as L'Obs, Les Inrockuptibles and L'Humanité, which usually applaud the author, offered unfavourable reviews, with L'Obs pointing to its length. An English translation by Shaun Whiteside appeared in 2024.