J.G. Ballard


Born
in Shanghai, China
November 15, 1930

Died
April 19, 2009

Genre

Influences


James Graham "J. G." Ballard (15 November 1930 – 19 April 2009) was an English novelist, short story writer, and essayist. Ballard came to be associated with the New Wave of science fiction early in his career with apocalyptic (or post-apocalyptic) novels such as The Drowned World (1962), The Burning World (1964), and The Crystal World (1966). In the late 1960s and early 1970s Ballard focused on an eclectic variety of short stories (or "condensed novels") such as The Atrocity Exhibition (1970), which drew closer comparison with the work of postmodernist writers such as William S. Burroughs. In 1973 the highly controversial novel Crash was published, a story about symphorophilia and car crash fetishism; the protagonist becomes sexually arous ...more

Average rating: 3.69 · 200,619 ratings · 17,880 reviews · 469 distinct worksSimilar authors
High-Rise

3.62 avg rating — 39,733 ratings — published 1975 — 97 editions
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Crash

3.61 avg rating — 30,793 ratings — published 1973 — 123 editions
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Empire of the Sun

3.98 avg rating — 22,644 ratings — published 1984 — 4 editions
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The Drowned World

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3.47 avg rating — 20,786 ratings — published 1962 — 103 editions
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Concrete Island

3.67 avg rating — 10,442 ratings — published 1974 — 5 editions
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The Atrocity Exhibition

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3.76 avg rating — 7,222 ratings — published 1969 — 63 editions
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Cocaine Nights

3.56 avg rating — 6,743 ratings — published 1996 — 47 editions
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Super-Cannes

3.72 avg rating — 5,118 ratings — published 2000 — 43 editions
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The Crystal World

3.60 avg rating — 4,832 ratings — published 1966 — 90 editions
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Running Wild

3.56 avg rating — 3,499 ratings — published 1988 — 48 editions
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More books by J.G. Ballard…
Empire of the Sun The Kindness of Women
(2 books)
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3.96 avg rating — 24,108 ratings

The Complete Short Stories:... The Complete Short Stories:...
(2 books)
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4.38 avg rating — 2,598 ratings

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Quotes by J.G. Ballard  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“I believe in the power of the imagination to remake the world, to release the truth within us, to hold back the night, to transcend death, to charm motorways, to ingratiate ourselves with birds, to enlist the confidences of madmen.”
J.G. Ballard

“Perhaps the future belongs to magic, and it's we women who control magic.”
J. G. Ballard, Rushing to Paradise

“Civilised life, you know, is based on a huge number of illusions in which we all collaborate willingly. The trouble is we forget after a while that they are illusions and we are deeply shocked when reality is torn down around us.”
J.G. Ballard

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