Omss-Culture: Culturebox: Houellebecq vs. Wikipedia



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culturebox Houellebecq vs. Wikipedia The French novelist borrowed from the online encyclopedia. Is he in trouble? By Vincent Glad Posted Friday, Sept. 10, 2010, at 12:43 PM ET French writer Michel Houellebecq has always loved to pepper his novels with long encyclopedic descriptions of personalities, locations, and scientific concepts. In his new novel, the excellent La carte et le territoire (The Map and the Territory), which is the toast of the French literary scene, Houellebecq launches into tedious digressions about topics as varied as the housefly and the city of Beauvais. Some of the passages seemed so much like Wikipedia entries that Slate.fr, *Slate's French sister site, decided to check, and--surprise!--discovered that at least three passages from the book are borrowed from the online encyclopedia. On Sept. 2, I published an article in Slate.fr, under the headline "Houellebecq, the Possibility of a Plagiarism," in which I revealed the author's copy-and-pastes from Wikipedia and noted that the technique was a logical extension of his literary style. (For side-by-side comparisons of three passages from La carte et le territoire* and the Wikipedia entries, see this page.) To continue reading, click here. Vincent Glad is a writer at Slate.fr. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Charismatic Warlord Afghans Wish al-Qaida Hadn't Assassinated Is I'm Still Here an Exploitative Documentary of Mental Illness or Just a Big, Unfunny Joke? Shafer: I Don't Venerate Books the Way I Used To	Advertisement
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Now playing: *Slate V, a video-only site from the world's leading online magazine. Visit Slate V* at www.slatev.com.
culturebox Houellebecq vs. Wikipedia The French novelist borrowed from the online encyclopedia. Is he in trouble? By Vincent Glad Posted Friday, Sept. 10, 2010, at 12:43 PM ET French writer Michel Houellebecq has always loved to pepper his novels with long encyclopedic descriptions of personalities, locations, and scientific concepts. In his new novel, the excellent La carte et le territoire (The Map and the Territory), which is the toast of the French literary scene, Houellebecq launches into tedious digressions about topics as varied as the housefly and the city of Beauvais. Some of the passages seemed so much like Wikipedia entries that Slate.fr, *Slate's French sister site, decided to check, and--surprise!--discovered that at least three passages from the book are borrowed from the online encyclopedia. On Sept. 2, I published an article in Slate.fr, under the headline "Houellebecq, the Possibility of a Plagiarism," in which I revealed the author's copy-and-pastes from Wikipedia and noted that the technique was a logical extension of his literary style. (For side-by-side comparisons of three passages from La carte et le territoire* and the Wikipedia entries, see this page.) To continue reading, click here. Vincent Glad is a writer at Slate.fr. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Charismatic Warlord Afghans Wish al-Qaida Hadn't Assassinated Is I'm Still Here an Exploitative Documentary of Mental Illness or Just a Big, Unfunny Joke? Shafer: I Don't Venerate Books the Way I Used To	Advertisement
Manage your newsletters on Slate Unsubscribe \| Newsletter Center \| Advertising Information Please do not reply to this message since this is an unmonitored e-mail address. If you have questions about newsletters, please go here.
Ideas on how to make something better? Send an e-mail to newsletters@slate.com. Copyright 2010 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC \| Privacy Policy Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive \| c/o E-mail Customer Care \| 1150 15th Street NW \| Washington, D.C. 20071

Culturebox: Houellebecq vs. Wikipedia

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