Michel Houellebecq, according to Lee Rourke, deserves more attention because he is "a giant; he is everything a great writer should be: insouciant, bold, crafty and wise. A relentless prophet of doom, unafraid and unhinged--quite possibly the nearest thing we have to genius this minute. The mark where the novel has reached."
From a site dedicated to all things Houellebecq comes this apt description:
Michel Houellebecq is a sort of prophet. He is gifted with the very rare capacity to perceive the world with an unrivaled degree of sensitivity. And he has the talent to convey his perceptions to us. This is what certain people have trouble accepting. They do not want to be told of the world as it is, nor of the suffering of all human beings, torn between their aspirations and reality. With devastating humor, and with lyrical touches capable of reaching the depths of the soul, he creates real characters, who live at the heart of a real world, today’s world.
More about Michel Houellebecq
+ Profile at the Guardian Unlimited and at the Observer
+ KCRW's Bookworm talks with Houellebecq (audio)
+ Houellebecq's books at Powell's
+ John Derbyshire of the National Review reads Houellebecq
+ Rain Taxi review of Houellebecq's H.P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life
+ Houellebecq's Wikipedia entry