Prima Belladonna / System och ting: Vital materialism och objektorienterad filosofi

by J.G. Ballard, Jane Bennett, Jesper Olsson (Förord)

Kartotek 4: Jane Bennett - System och ting: Vital materialism och objektorienterad filosofi. J.G. Ballard - Prima Belladonna. Förord av Jesper Olsson. Tanken bakom skriftserien Kartotek är att lyfta fram viktiga teoretiska texter för en nordisk läsekrets i ett format som uppmuntrar till dialog mellan filosofi, teoretiskt tänkande, skönlitteratur och konst, samt inbjuder till vidare fördjupning. Varje del av skriftserien består var för sig av två texter, en teoretisk eller essäistisk text ackompanjerad av en skönlitterär text. Materiellt påminner varje del i skriftserien om små pamfletter, tryckta på enkelt papper, klammerhäftade, lätta att ta med på bussen tåget eller flyget, och menade att distribueras mellan vänner och kollegor.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

67 pages, Paperback

Published December 31, 2021

About the author

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 aroused by staging and participating in real car crashes. The story was later adapted into a film of the same name by Canadian director David Cronenberg.

While many of Ballard's stories are thematically and narratively unusual, he is perhaps best known for his relatively conventional war novel, Empire of the Sun (1984), a semi-autobiographical account of a young boy's experiences in Shanghai during the Second Sino-Japanese War as it came to be occupied by the Japanese Imperial Army. Described as "The best British novel about the Second World War" by The Guardian, the story was adapted into a 1987 film by Steven Spielberg.

The literary distinctiveness of Ballard's work has given rise to the adjective "Ballardian", defined by the Collins English Dictionary as "resembling or suggestive of the conditions described in J. G. Ballard's novels and stories, especially dystopian modernity, bleak man-made landscapes and the psychological effects of technological, social or environmental developments." The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry describes Ballard's work as being occupied with "eros, thanatos, mass media and emergent technologies".

Reviews

[Bhuwan Chand · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first story of J G Ballard story I ever read...Brilliant stuff. Here is the true Master of Science Fiction, I am ashamed that I didn't read him earlier. Will try to finish as many of his stories as I possibly can...

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun short with some strange references treated as casual facts to further normalize the sci-fi-ness... Definitely worth the read. The imagery and sound-edgy (?) is very nice, as well.

[James B · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time reading J.G. Ballard, and it's exactly the sort of scifi I'm looking for. Fantastic short story. I was a bit confused about the arachnid at first, not realising it was a plant.