Trading Butterflies: The Representation of Asian Sex Workers in Vollmann and Houellebecq

Autori

  • Marco Malvestio University of Toronto

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13130/2037-2426/11921

Parole chiave:

William T. Vollmann, Michel Houellebecq, Orientalism, Satire, Sex Trade

Abstract

The article compares the representation of Asian sex workers in William T. Vollmann’s Butterfly Stories(1993) and Michel Houellebecq’s Platform(Plateforme, 2001). Both the novels are set in South-East Asia, and both involve an apologetic and romanticised description of the sex trade. By comparing the two novels, I argue that both authors’ treatments of the sex industry develop a critique of Western Orientalism, and at the same time sympathy for and complicity with the colonial power dynamics that regulate the relationships between Asian countries and the West.

Riferimenti bibliografici

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Pubblicato

18-07-2019

Come citare

Malvestio, M. (2019). Trading Butterflies: The Representation of Asian Sex Workers in Vollmann and Houellebecq. ENTHYMEMA, (23), 57–72. https://doi.org/10.13130/2037-2426/11921

Fascicolo

Sezione

«We Should Never Write Without Feeling». Studi su William T. Vollmann – A cura di Giuseppe Carrara e Marco Malvestio
Ricevuto 2019-07-10
Accettato 2019-07-10
Pubblicato 2019-07-18