Platform (novel)

Platform

Cover of the U.S. paperback release of the novel.
Original title	Plateforme
Language	French
Publication date	2001

Platform (French: Plateforme) is a 2001 novel by French writer Michel Houellebecq (translated into English by Frank Wynne). It has received both great praise and great criticism, most notably for the novel's apparent condoning of sex tourism and anti-Muslim feelings. Houellebecq was charged for inciting racial and religious hatred after describing Islam as "stupid", but the charges were ultimately dismissed.

A play in Spanish based on the book, adapted and directed by Calixto Bieito, premiered at the 2006 Edinburgh International Festival.

The story is the first-person narrative of a fictional character named Michel Renault, a Parisian civil servant who, after the death of his father, engages in sexual tourism in Thailand, where he meets a travel agent named Valérie. Valerie and Renault begin an affair, and, after moving back to France, hatch a plan with Valerie's boss (who works in the travel industry in the Aurore group, an allusion to the real-life Accor group) to launch a new variety of package holiday called "friendly tourism", implicitly or explicitly aimed at Europeans looking for a sexual experience whilst on vacation. Single men and women - and even couples - are to be targeted, and would vacation in specially designed "Aphrodite Clubs".

Initially, the name "Venus clubs" - an allusion to the Villa Venus clubs dreamed of by Eric Veen in Vladimir Nabokov's classic Ada or Ardor - is suggested, but is rejected as being too explicit. It is decided that Thailand is the best location for the new clubs, with the advertising making it clear that Thai women would also be easily available. The tours are to be marketed predominantly to German consumers, as it is perceived that there will be less moral outrage in Germany than in France.