Author: Florian Cord
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110488302
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 254
Book Description
This book is the first sustained investigation of the political dimension in the work of J.G. Ballard. A product of and reaction to the cultural-socio-economic moment commonly designated as the postmodern condition, Ballard’s oeuvre is read as a continuous and developing meditation on the postmodern, examining it specifically as an expression of late capitalism. The book shows that at the heart of this meditation lies the question of resistance. Drawing on a wide range of concepts and ideas taken from the field of critical theory, it argues that in the face of a world marked by an unprecedented expansion of capital, in which modernity’s grand narratives have been invalidated and in which received forms of political struggle have lost their effectiveness, Ballard’s fiction commits itself to a deliberately irrational and extreme, pataphysical thought in order to develop a new discourse of resistance. Against past readings that have construed Ballard’s writing as non-political, decadent, or quietist, the study thus reveals Ballard as a thoroughly political author, committed to a subversive politics. In this way, the book also constitutes a timely intervention in the ongoing discussion concerning the nature and state of the political.
J.G. Ballard’s Politics
Author: Florian Cord
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110488302
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 254
Book Description
This book is the first sustained investigation of the political dimension in the work of J.G. Ballard. A product of and reaction to the cultural-socio-economic moment commonly designated as the postmodern condition, Ballard’s oeuvre is read as a continuous and developing meditation on the postmodern, examining it specifically as an expression of late capitalism. The book shows that at the heart of this meditation lies the question of resistance. Drawing on a wide range of concepts and ideas taken from the field of critical theory, it argues that in the face of a world marked by an unprecedented expansion of capital, in which modernity’s grand narratives have been invalidated and in which received forms of political struggle have lost their effectiveness, Ballard’s fiction commits itself to a deliberately irrational and extreme, pataphysical thought in order to develop a new discourse of resistance. Against past readings that have construed Ballard’s writing as non-political, decadent, or quietist, the study thus reveals Ballard as a thoroughly political author, committed to a subversive politics. In this way, the book also constitutes a timely intervention in the ongoing discussion concerning the nature and state of the political.
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110488302
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 254
Book Description
This book is the first sustained investigation of the political dimension in the work of J.G. Ballard. A product of and reaction to the cultural-socio-economic moment commonly designated as the postmodern condition, Ballard’s oeuvre is read as a continuous and developing meditation on the postmodern, examining it specifically as an expression of late capitalism. The book shows that at the heart of this meditation lies the question of resistance. Drawing on a wide range of concepts and ideas taken from the field of critical theory, it argues that in the face of a world marked by an unprecedented expansion of capital, in which modernity’s grand narratives have been invalidated and in which received forms of political struggle have lost their effectiveness, Ballard’s fiction commits itself to a deliberately irrational and extreme, pataphysical thought in order to develop a new discourse of resistance. Against past readings that have construed Ballard’s writing as non-political, decadent, or quietist, the study thus reveals Ballard as a thoroughly political author, committed to a subversive politics. In this way, the book also constitutes a timely intervention in the ongoing discussion concerning the nature and state of the political.
Kingdom Come: A Novel
Author: J. G. Ballard
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0871404745
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 320
Book Description
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Selection A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year (Fiction) “J.G. Ballard is the undisputed laureate of suburban psychosis.... A brilliant novel.” —Literary Review A violent novel filled with insidious twists, Kingdom Come follows the exploits of Richard Pearson, a rebellious, unemployed advertising executive, whose father is gunned down by a deranged mental patient in a vast shopping mall outside Heathrow Airport. When the prime suspect is released without charge, Richard’s suspicions are aroused. Investigating the mystery, Richard uncovers at the Metro-Centre mall a neo-fascist world whose charismatic spokesperson is whipping up the masses into a state of unsustainable frenzy. Riots frequently terrorize the complex, immigrant communities are attacked by hooligans, and sports events mushroom into jingoistic political rallies. In this gripping, dystopian tour de force, J.G. Ballard holds up a mirror to suburban mind rot, revealing the darker forces at work beneath the gloss of consumerism and flag-waving patriotism.
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0871404745
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 320
Book Description
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Selection A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year (Fiction) “J.G. Ballard is the undisputed laureate of suburban psychosis.... A brilliant novel.” —Literary Review A violent novel filled with insidious twists, Kingdom Come follows the exploits of Richard Pearson, a rebellious, unemployed advertising executive, whose father is gunned down by a deranged mental patient in a vast shopping mall outside Heathrow Airport. When the prime suspect is released without charge, Richard’s suspicions are aroused. Investigating the mystery, Richard uncovers at the Metro-Centre mall a neo-fascist world whose charismatic spokesperson is whipping up the masses into a state of unsustainable frenzy. Riots frequently terrorize the complex, immigrant communities are attacked by hooligans, and sports events mushroom into jingoistic political rallies. In this gripping, dystopian tour de force, J.G. Ballard holds up a mirror to suburban mind rot, revealing the darker forces at work beneath the gloss of consumerism and flag-waving patriotism.
High-Rise: A Novel
Author: J. G. Ballard
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0871404737
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 209
Book Description
"Harsh and ingenious! High Rise is an intense and vivid bestiary, which lingers unsettlingly in the mind." —Martin Amis, New Statesman When a class war erupts inside a luxurious apartment block, modern elevators become violent battlegrounds and cocktail parties degenerate into marauding attacks on “enemy” floors. In this visionary tale, human society slips into violent reverse as once-peaceful residents, driven by primal urges, re-create a world ruled by the laws of the jungle.
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0871404737
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 209
Book Description
"Harsh and ingenious! High Rise is an intense and vivid bestiary, which lingers unsettlingly in the mind." —Martin Amis, New Statesman When a class war erupts inside a luxurious apartment block, modern elevators become violent battlegrounds and cocktail parties degenerate into marauding attacks on “enemy” floors. In this visionary tale, human society slips into violent reverse as once-peaceful residents, driven by primal urges, re-create a world ruled by the laws of the jungle.
The Atrocity Exhibition
Author: J. G. Ballard
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
ISBN: 0007322194
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 23
Book Description
First published in 1970 and widely regarded as a prophetic masterpiece, this is a groundbreaking experimental novel by the acclaimed author of ‘Crash’ and ‘Super-Cannes’.
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
ISBN: 0007322194
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 23
Book Description
First published in 1970 and widely regarded as a prophetic masterpiece, this is a groundbreaking experimental novel by the acclaimed author of ‘Crash’ and ‘Super-Cannes’.
Super-Cannes
Author: J. G. Ballard
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
ISBN: 1429970537
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 434
Book Description
In this acclaimed speculative novel, the author of Crash imagines an exclusive business park that hides a ghastly mystery: “One of his finest” (San Francisco Chronicle). For forty years, J.G. Ballard has shared his unnervingly prescient vision of where civilization was headed. He kept his unflinching eye on the point where technological progress has worn away our humanity. And Super-Cannes is Ballard at his best: “Rarely has his vision been so total, his creation so complete” (Minneapolis Star-Tribune). Eden-Olympia is more than just a multinational business park. Isolated and secure, overlooking the French Riviera, it is a virtual city-state offering the latest in services and facilities for the most elite high-tech industries. Yet one day Dr. Greenwood from Eden-Olympia’s clinic goes on a suicidal shooting spree. Dr. Jane Sinclair is hired as his replacement, and she and her husband, Paul, are given Dr. Greenwood’s house as a residence. Convalescing after an accident, Paul becomes fascinated with Dr. Greenwood and his shocking crimes. Clues in the house lead him to question Eden-Olympia’s official account. While Jane is lured deeper into Eden-Olympia’s inner workings, Paul uncovers the dangerous psychological vents that maintain its smoothly running surface. Soon he finds himself in race against crushing forces that may be beyond anyone’s control.
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
ISBN: 1429970537
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 434
Book Description
In this acclaimed speculative novel, the author of Crash imagines an exclusive business park that hides a ghastly mystery: “One of his finest” (San Francisco Chronicle). For forty years, J.G. Ballard has shared his unnervingly prescient vision of where civilization was headed. He kept his unflinching eye on the point where technological progress has worn away our humanity. And Super-Cannes is Ballard at his best: “Rarely has his vision been so total, his creation so complete” (Minneapolis Star-Tribune). Eden-Olympia is more than just a multinational business park. Isolated and secure, overlooking the French Riviera, it is a virtual city-state offering the latest in services and facilities for the most elite high-tech industries. Yet one day Dr. Greenwood from Eden-Olympia’s clinic goes on a suicidal shooting spree. Dr. Jane Sinclair is hired as his replacement, and she and her husband, Paul, are given Dr. Greenwood’s house as a residence. Convalescing after an accident, Paul becomes fascinated with Dr. Greenwood and his shocking crimes. Clues in the house lead him to question Eden-Olympia’s official account. While Jane is lured deeper into Eden-Olympia’s inner workings, Paul uncovers the dangerous psychological vents that maintain its smoothly running surface. Soon he finds himself in race against crushing forces that may be beyond anyone’s control.
Quotes
Author: Tamara Kudelic
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781447721086
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781447721086
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Miracles of Life: Shanghai to Shepperton, An Autobiography
Author: J. G. Ballard
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0871403420
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 265
Book Description
A final statement from the greatest clairvoyant of twentieth-century literature. Never before published in America, this revelatory autobiography—hailed as “fascinating [and] amazingly lucid” (Guardian)—charts the remarkable story of James Graham Ballard, a man described by Martin Amis as “the most original English writer of the last century.” Beginning with his Shanghai childhood, Miracles of Life guides us from the deprivations of Lunghua Camp during World War II, which provide the back story for his best-selling Empire of the Sun, to his arrival in war-torn England and his emergence as “the ideal chronicler of our disturbed modernity” (Observer). With prose of characteristic precision, Ballard movingly recalls his first attempts at science fiction, the 1970 American pulping of The Atrocity Exhibition—which sprang from his fascination with JFK conspiracy theories—and his life as a single father after the premature death of his wife. “This book should make yet more converts to a cause that Ballard’s devotees have been pleading for years” (Independent).
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0871403420
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 265
Book Description
A final statement from the greatest clairvoyant of twentieth-century literature. Never before published in America, this revelatory autobiography—hailed as “fascinating [and] amazingly lucid” (Guardian)—charts the remarkable story of James Graham Ballard, a man described by Martin Amis as “the most original English writer of the last century.” Beginning with his Shanghai childhood, Miracles of Life guides us from the deprivations of Lunghua Camp during World War II, which provide the back story for his best-selling Empire of the Sun, to his arrival in war-torn England and his emergence as “the ideal chronicler of our disturbed modernity” (Observer). With prose of characteristic precision, Ballard movingly recalls his first attempts at science fiction, the 1970 American pulping of The Atrocity Exhibition—which sprang from his fascination with JFK conspiracy theories—and his life as a single father after the premature death of his wife. “This book should make yet more converts to a cause that Ballard’s devotees have been pleading for years” (Independent).
Millennium People: A Novel
Author: J. G. Ballard
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393081990
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
"The most cosmically elegiac writer in literature . . . no one reading Ballard could doubt the tidal gravity of his intellect." —Jonathan Lethem, New York Times Book Review Violent rebellion comes to London’s middle classes in this “fascinating” (San Francisco Chronicle) novel from the same author of Crash and Empire of the Sun. Never more timely, Millennium People “seeks to illuminate our hearts of darkness while undermining our assumptions about what literature is meant to do” (Los Angeles Times).
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393081990
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
"The most cosmically elegiac writer in literature . . . no one reading Ballard could doubt the tidal gravity of his intellect." —Jonathan Lethem, New York Times Book Review Violent rebellion comes to London’s middle classes in this “fascinating” (San Francisco Chronicle) novel from the same author of Crash and Empire of the Sun. Never more timely, Millennium People “seeks to illuminate our hearts of darkness while undermining our assumptions about what literature is meant to do” (Los Angeles Times).
J.G. Ballard's Surrealist Imagination
Author: Jeannette Baxter
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN: 9780754662679
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 260
Book Description
Making the case that J. G. Ballard's fiction must be read within the framework of Surrealism, Jeannette Baxter argues for a radical revisioning of Ballard that takes account of the political and ethical dimensions of his work. A very different portrait of Ballard emerges, one that has implications for our understanding of post-war history and culture, the role of the reader and the function of the written text within a predominantly visual culture.
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN: 9780754662679
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 260
Book Description
Making the case that J. G. Ballard's fiction must be read within the framework of Surrealism, Jeannette Baxter argues for a radical revisioning of Ballard that takes account of the political and ethical dimensions of his work. A very different portrait of Ballard emerges, one that has implications for our understanding of post-war history and culture, the role of the reader and the function of the written text within a predominantly visual culture.
Hello America: A Novel
Author: J. G. Ballard
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0871406845
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 237
Book Description
"This fable lifts a great freight of ideas effortlessly…The story of an expedition driven on by wishes of possession and power but guided internally by myths of America whose sources lie in the late 20th century." —Guardian Following the energy crisis of the late twentieth century, America has been abandoned. Now, a century later, a small group of European explorers returns to the now climatically mutated continent. But America is unrecognizable—the Bering Strait has been dammed and much of the country has become a desert, populated by isolated natives and the bizarre remnants of a disintegrated culture. The expedition sets off from Manhattan on a cross-country journey, through Holiday Inns and abandoned theme parks, to uncover a shocking new power in the heart of Las Vegas.
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0871406845
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 237
Book Description
"This fable lifts a great freight of ideas effortlessly…The story of an expedition driven on by wishes of possession and power but guided internally by myths of America whose sources lie in the late 20th century." —Guardian Following the energy crisis of the late twentieth century, America has been abandoned. Now, a century later, a small group of European explorers returns to the now climatically mutated continent. But America is unrecognizable—the Bering Strait has been dammed and much of the country has become a desert, populated by isolated natives and the bizarre remnants of a disintegrated culture. The expedition sets off from Manhattan on a cross-country journey, through Holiday Inns and abandoned theme parks, to uncover a shocking new power in the heart of Las Vegas.