Author: Tess from the Library
Ventnor Reading Groups Views on JG Ballard
Wednesday, 11th November, 2009 at 10:16 am, Isle of Wight
The Ventnor Reading Group get together on a regular basis and at their meeting last week they discussed their views on the writer J G Ballard.
Here’s what they had to say, do feel free to add your comments at the bottom.
“..what an odd chap….did his childhood so affect his view of humankind?”
Kindness of Women “.. I thought I’d be disappointed in a sequel to the fantastic Empire of the Sun but I was enthralled….easy to read… strangely detached and unemotional …description of the ‘60’s horribly accurate…graphic sex and drugs but so tender with regard to family ….I wonder just how autobiographical it was..?”
Drowned World “..his first novel…brilliant… filmic….so topical as it is about a post-apocalyptic, flooded world with rising temperatures where majority have died or fled north. Main characters live an alienated, isolated life in deteriorating circumstances. Other theme is that humans have a primeval sub-conscious which will come to the surface as we regress into pre-history. Fascinating..”
Concrete World “..well-written but I loathed it – set in a world where a small group of people exist within a space below a motorway – unappealing characters and bleak situation..”
Crystal World “.. a “male” book….characters enfolded in a beautiful but harsh and enclosed world..”
Short Stories – Having a lovely time “..about community of the unemployed held on a ”Costa” where they become an alternative society entirely occupied by filling their time – one man tries to break free but even his wife feels little about his fate..”
“..his books seem to be about isolation – he sees humans as adapting to their circumstances much as he must have done in the camp..”
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I had the great pleasure of meeting J G Ballard many years ago when I accompanied Harlan Ellison to a SciFi convention… a classic gentleman
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your starter for 10, N0.5
which sci-fi novel has an IOW plot-hinge?
a helicopter pilot representative of Beadley’s faction lands at the farm and reports that the group has established a successful colony on the Isle of Wight (and that Coker survived to join them).
Despite their ongoing struggles, the Masens are reluctant to leave their home, but their hand is forced by the arrival the next day of a squad of soldiers who represent a despotic new government which is setting up feudal enclaves across the country…
…After feigning general agreement, the Masens disable the soldiers’ vehicle and flee during the night. They join the Isle of Wight colony, and settle down to the long struggle ahead…
here’s the answer
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i’ve got a feeling that brian aldiss might have lived on the island at one stage – perhaps he still lives a low-profile life on the island?
google can’t immediately confirm my notion except to say his wife and kids moved to the island during marital friction.
Guardian
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i’d like to read his autobiography.
he was a talented writer.
i remember when i was learning to drive as a teenager i was reading crash.
i donated my copy to my driving instructor!
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