J.G. Ballard

by V. Vale (Editor), Andrea Juno (Editor)

This is the most comprehensive introduction to this visionary writer, the William Burroughs of England. J.G. Ballard finally achieved world recognition when Steven Spielberg filmed his autobiography (childhood til age 15) in Empire of the Sun. But Ballard has been a visionary iconoclast since the 50s, beginning with his trilogy of disaster novels, The Burning World, The Drowned World, and The Crystal World, and most notoriously, his automobile death-wish classic, Crash, about the psychopathology of the car crash. He predicted Ronald Reagan as president 15 years before it happened! This volume contains long interviews, including one by soundtrack composer/SPK founder Graeme Revell, stories, a biography, bibliography, and many provocative quotations. Ballard is possibly the most futuristic philosopher of the 20th century.

Genres: Nonfiction, Cultural, Biography, Philosophy, Short Stories, Essays, Art

171 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1984

About the author

Japanese-American writer and publisher. He also played keyboards for the later famous power trio Blue Cheer.

In 1977 he started to publish the punk fanzine "Search and destroy" In 1980, he began publication of RE/Search, a tabloid format zine focusing on various counterculture and underground topics.

RE/Search later became always a format for books, of which Vale is a regular contributor.

Reviews

[Adam]

This is an excellent introduction to J.G. Ballard's fiction, life, and worldview. If you've never read any of his books, this might actually be the best place to start. His novels are often cold, clinical, and bizarre, so it's nice to come to them with some idea of his obsessions and general outlook on life. Also, he's a surprisingly warm and verbose interview subject.

[Jeff Jackson]

Ideal introduction including several provocative interviews, non-fiction pieces, autobiographical fragments, collages, bibliography and a well-chosen selection of his short stories (some previously uncollected) and the first chapter of 'Crash.' Catalogs Ballard's obsessions and why they matter.

[John]

Ballard's viewpoint is fascinating. He often subverts the definition of "story" or "text" in order to show the reader something they've never seen before.

This collection has interviews, plus quite weird smaller pieces. You might want to check out Ballard's short story collections or other books, if this RE/Search book is too much to take.

[Stephen]

Odd shit, in bite-size portions.

[Willy Boy]

Essential.

[Perry Ruhland]

Contains interviews with and writing on J.G. Ballard, along with a selection of some of his more experimental stories. I'd never read 'The Index', and it's fantastic.

[Brendan]

Despite the fact that its scope is limited to his work up to Empire of the Sun, this is an excellent, almost fully comprehensive portrait of Ballard’s life and work.

[Bettie]

blurb - What is the story behind the bizarre circus that rolls into town one Midsummer's Eve? Fantastical tale read by Michael Maloney.

Categories:
Drama, SciFi & Fantasy


Could easily of been mistaken for a Bradbury by the storyline, but not by the (in comparison) bland prose.

[Dora]

“We live in a world ruled by fictions of every kind -- mass merchandising, advertising, politics conducted as a branch of advertising, the instant translation of science and technology into popular imagery . . .”
J. G. Ballard quote

[Pauline]

the Index is genius.

[T. Smith]

The editor is Vale (just Vale), not "Vivienne Vale" as listed here.

[Dennis Lorence]

Best of the series

[GertJan]

Editie van het illustere tijdscrift RE/Search, met centraal een lang interview van Vale en Andrea Juno met Ballard thuis.

[Mills College Library]

currently-reading

[Matt McG]

This is the book that got me obsessed with Ballard

[Geoff Sebesta]

Oh J. G. Ballard. So hard to read, so easy to read about.

[Jerabrim]

Good one