The Elementary Particles

An international literary phenomenon, The Elementary Particles is a frighteningly original novel-part Marguerite Duras and part Bret Easton Ellis-that leaps headlong into the malaise of contemporary existence.

Bruno and Michel are half-brothers abandoned by their mother, an unabashed devotee of the drugged-out free-love world of the sixties. Bruno, the older, has become a raucously promiscuous hedonist himself, while Michel is an emotionally dead molecular biologist wholly immersed in the solitude of his work. Each is ultimately offered a final chance at genuine love, and what unfolds is a brilliantly caustic and unpredictable tale.

Translated from the French by Frank Wynne.

Editorial Reviews

„An original work of art-ironic, intelligent and as airtight and elegant as a geometry proof.“
-The New York Times Magazine

„[A] brilliant novel of ideas… [A] riveting novel by a deft, observant writer.“
-The Wall Street Journal

„Fearless, vivid and astringently honest…surprisingly funny… [C]an permanently change how we view things that happened in our own lives. Not many novels can do that.“
-Los Angeles Times

– From the Publisher