Serotonin

In "Serotonin," Michel Houellebecq introduces Florent-Claude Labrouste, a 46-year-old agricultural engineer grappling with a profound midlife crisis. Confronted with deep disillusionment, he decides to systematically dismantle his life: severing his relationship, resigning from his job, and abandoning his apartment. Despite taking Captorix, a new antidepressant that paradoxically extinguishes his libido without alleviating his despair, Florent-Claude's decision remains unshaken. His solitary retreat leads him into a melancholic introspection, revisiting past loves and critically examining moments where he believes he betrayed himself and others. A pivotal encounter with an old university friend, Aymeric, a Norman farmer battling the relentless forces of globalization and an indifferent EU bureaucracy, anchors Florent-Claude's personal anguish within a broader narrative of societal decline. Through this intensely personal and often bleak journey, Houellebecq delivers a serious and deeply emotional meditation on love, betrayal, and the quiet unraveling of traditional European life in the contemporary world.