The English title of this short novel, "whatever" is somewhat unfortunate, since the phrase evokes the attitude of young teenagers rather than the struggle of modern man in confronting life's indifference whilst "in a depression". The french title translates literally to something like extending the domain of the struggle (not difficult to discern from the words) and this is something more like what is going on.
Set in and around Paris, Houellebecq draws a lot from Sartre and other writers in that tradition. As well as many passages in the book reminding me (sometimes bluntly) of Nausea, some reminded me of Unbearable Lightness of Being, Fight Club or American Psycho. These similarities are sometimes interesting, however since Houellebecq fails to depict a unique or new crisis in man, I found it hard to find any of the revelations (or lack there-of) important.
His protagonist is ironically funny, sometimes aggressive in his dislike of people (particularly attractive/sexual women), at others surprisingly empathetic. Many of the wry observations refer to his company, the main office and it's software development (the program is called Maple, which is a mathematics programming package in reality but I couldn't quite gather whether he was aware of this or not).
What perhaps distinguishes this story from others is that the lead character is given a diagnosis. He is told that he is "in a depression" and we see the beginnings of the altered interaction with his co-workers after this (he's only got one friend). The depression is expressed more specifically through the character's loneliness, his lack of a loving girlfriend (many mentions of his ex- of 2 years), and how these things are needed for fulfilment when God is taken out of the picture - so in this sense, it moves beyond the existentialist dilemma and toward the more-human need for interaction and love.
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