J.G. Ballard discussion

I've just finished this novel yesterday and enjoyed it.

I really loved how it was a journey through the "myth" of America more than anything else. From deserts, western movie towns and Las Vegas to a darker side: Charles Manson, nuclear bombs and the jungle (a reference to Vietnam?).

It's a good post-apocalyptic novel but the ending was too unambiguously happy for my taste.

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Also, having robot versions of all the former presidents shooting the current crazy president seemed self-righteous to me. (hide spoiler)]

What did you guys/gals think of it?


Also, I'm curious, is this the last "straight" SF books that ballard wrote?

I read it a couple of months ago and thought it was enjoyable.

I don't think it carries the weight of any of his prior novels though and, considering that Empire of the Sun is the next book he wrote, I would consider it something of a lull in the quality of his output.

But even his lulls are fascinating. It is still worth reading but I doubt it will have as great an effect on the reader as the novels preceding it (The Unlimited Dream Company, High-Rise and Concrete Island) which are far greater.

Apparently Netflix are funding an adaption of this - http://deadline.com/2017/05/netflix-j...

Ridley Scott of 1979 Alien would be good. Telling him he's only got a tiny budget would improve things no end.

Would anyone be able to recommend the author you think is the closest to Ballard and still writing today? It really is tragic he died in 2009, the times we live in would have fascinated him.

Wayne Koestenbaum is an amazing essayist who reminds me of Ballard's non-fiction , and sometimes his fiction! Humiliation is great.
Also - James Purdy is an AMAZING fiction writer. Not the same as Ballard but another world view.

Thanks Nicholas! I'll check them out

An intriguing question but that depends on the particular aspect of Ballard that you are looking for; narrative style, subject, etc. which changed over the years that he wrote. I’ve yet to come across something similar to the sense of strangeness in the way that Ballard was able to convey it.

Ballard was influenced by surrealist art in his earlier years and to me his early work, e.g. The Crystal World, evokes a dreamlike mood indicative of surrealism whereas his later works such as Crash and Concrete Island evoke a sense of insularity in mundane social situations and yet they reflect some of the strangeness and tension of his early work.

Readers respond differently to the same writer that is part of the amazing beauty of literature wherein writers are able to create worlds composed in part of his conscious intentions and in part reflective of some deeper unconscious meaning. In some ways it’s a good thing that writers aren’t all that similar in style because that means that there is more good stuff out there for the reader to discover. Best Regards

Is anyone aware of any updates on the Netflix adaptation of Hello America?