Winner of the Prix Goncourt, Michel Houellebecq, in his latest novel, "The Map and the Territory," takes us into the world of art and the life of Jed Martin, rival of Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons, and fan of a writer called ... Michel Houellebecq.

But whereas some writers would disappear into a metafictional hall of mirrors, Houellebecq manages to reflect on death, dogs, art, sex and the future of humanity, and he does so with a sense of humor and self-deprecation. If you want something zeitgeisty, or something to stimulate your gray matter, then this is the book for you. Oh, and the simulated bubble-wrap cover is inspired.

Meanwhile, one of Britain's top novelists, Glen Duncan, and one of America's, Colson Whitehead, have taken on werewolves and zombies in two books that question the literary merits of the horror genre and bravely embrace lycanthropy and a post-apocalyptic Earth.