The Harassment of Houellebecq

Without any bombast, Banned Books Week 2026 came and went. The executive board of the American Library Association ought to consider running it back before next year: to protest the criminal investigation of a 70-year-old novelist and poet and moviemaker (and onetime amateur performer in an erotic flick produced by a Dutch art collective).

It’s true that isn’t American, and the ALA might not have the advocacy chops to take on an investigating judge in a western suburb of Paris, but that’s irrelevant. This is principle. In 2024, the ALA passed a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. Time again for “immediate” resolve. This resolution will not be televised. Open letter? No? Perhaps so-called resources for bookstores that are interested in featuring special Houellebecq displays; stacks of Submission and Annihilation next to the checkout counter. Statement of support, then. A Bluesky post?

About the Author

Vahaken Mouradian

Vahaken Mouradian is the literary editor of National Review.

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American Library Association

Without any bombast, Banned Books Week 2026 came and went. The executive board of the American Library Association ought to consider running it back before next year: to protest the criminal investigation of a 70-year-old novelist and poet and moviemaker (and onetime amateur performer in an erotic flick produced by a Dutch art collective).

It’s true that isn’t American, and the ALA might not have the advocacy chops to take on an investigating judge in a western suburb of Paris, but that’s irrelevant. This is principle. In 2024, the ALA passed a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. Time again for “immediate” resolve. This resolution will not be televised. Open letter? No? Perhaps so-called resources for bookstores that are interested in featuring special Houellebecq displays; stacks of Submission and Annihilation next to the checkout counter. Statement of support, then. A Bluesky post?