/jgb/

I never see J. G. Ballard discussed here... so let's discuss him.

What's your favorite Ballard novel? I recently finished Kingdom Come, though it was a bit heavy handed. I'll be starting Crash soon.

I've read The Drowning World and High-Rise. I also have a paperback of The Drought on the unread pile. I want to read more of his earlier novels and short fiction before reading any newer things.

But yes, he is very good, very concerned with civilisations and people psychologically regressing. I came to him via SF/New Wave, his early short stories are in with that crowd.

His detached and dispassionate prose feels immersive, and what I enjoyed about Drowned World and High-Rise was the feeling of being gradually insidiously being exposed to something unusual, surreal or violent, much like a frog gradually being immersed in boiling water.

I personally prefer The Drowned World to all his others, although High Rise is also a masterful critique of British culture and politics in the 70s. Crash is alright, but again a little heavy handed... that's a general problem with Ballard though, very little is subtle...

I've seen the film of High-Rise, is the book worth reading?

>watch Empire of the Sun
>enjoy the inspiring story
>seek out more by the author
>end up reading about car crash victims having sex

I haven't seen the film, but the book is a 5/5 and is more simply written than the Drowned World.

See

High Rise is essentially Ballard for beginners and I would definitely recommend reading it. It's infitely better than the film... I don't quite know why (possibly because of the weaknesses of the special effects used) but Ballard's description of the depraved actions of his characters is so much more vivid and real than how it is presented on screen.

It also nicely sets out Ballard's style and (at least his early) philosophy and gives a good foundation for his later work.

I'm Ballardanon, I used to post weekly threads on him about a year and I plan to write a Master's on him.

I completely agree about Kingdom Come, it's easily the most heavily didactic of his novels, but while it's not much cop in terms of being interesting, it's informative for understanding Ballard's worldview, particularly his thoughts on contemporary society (while The Atrocity Exhibition, Crash and choice stories like The Terminal Beach are excellent, they are very reflective of the 60s/70s milieu in which they were written). You're going to enjoy Crash, it's highly unique. If you like it (and if you like Burroughs) you'll love The Atrocity Exhibition.

My three out-there Ballard recommendations are all quite different, I like to think they demonstrate that Ballard's work can be seen to come in different movements: the 60s SF wave (The Drowned World, The Drought, The Crystal World), the 70s experimental wave (The Atrocity Exhibition, Crash, Concrete Island, High-Rise, The Unlimited Dream Company), the 80s/early 90s autobiography duo (Empire of the Sun and The Kindness of Women) and lastly, "contemporary Ballard" (Cocaine Nights, Super-Cannes, Millenium People and Kingdom Come). Super-Cannes is perhaps my favourite Ballard - it's not the most avant-garde, or the most psychologically interesting novel for understanding Ballard as a writer, but it's a brilliant, prescient novel that explores mass shootings, simulacra and neoliberalism with Ballard's surgical salience. Running Wild is the next obscure Ballard I'd recommend: a novella written in the late 80s, it's about a gated community in which all the adults are mysteriously killed. Again, a fantastic satire on 80s Britain and written with the tautness of prose that Ballard does well. Finally I'd say that The Crystal World is the best and most obviously philosophical of Ballard's straight SF novels, if you read any of 60s SF Ballard, read that.

Ballard is my favorite novelist. Haven't read everything from him yet, but thus far I'd have to consider Atrocity Exhibition his best work. Its disjointed, experimental style allows him to circumvent some of the issues his other works have regarding characterization and plotting. Plan to read Crystal World soon.

I unironically appreciated this post.

I have his Best Short Stories. I've only read The Drowned Giant. I didn't get it.