Originally posted by DrKF Bosse de Naga, at least, I am sure will join me in mourning the passing of one of the greatest late twentieth-century's authors...
Originally posted by DrKF Bosse de Naga, at least, I am sure will join me in mourning the passing of one of the greatest late twentieth-century's authors...
Originally posted by darvlay Ballard is one of the authors on my list to read this Spring, along with Paul Auster.
Any recommendations for this newb?
For me, any of 'the drowned world', 'crash' or (my favourite of these first three) 'high rise', and any one of 'cocaine nights' or 'super-cannes'. Also, you should see what the fuss is about with 'crash' - have you seen the film? Finally, without a shadow of a doubt, 'the atrocity exhibition' is a must-read. (Then you can go for 'empire of the sun' - it is his most accessible book, but I don't think anyone should read it first.)
I don't know whether you bother with secondary literature, but Iain Sinclair's long essay/monograph on 'crash' Book and film) is an exceptional piece of work in its own right, and this website is really good as well:
Originally posted by darvlay Ballard is one of the authors on my list to read this Spring, along with Paul Auster.
Any recommendations for this newb?
It's hard to recommend a book for a person who scorned The Wild Boys.
Palynka's suggestion is a good one, although then you might as well go the whole hog and get the Complete Short Stories. (The stories comprising Myths of the Near Future are my favourites).
Some pooh-pooh it as light reading but for precisely that reason I'd recommend Hello America, one of Ballard's funniest books.
To be honest, I never recovered from The Atrocity Exhibition and I'd say do yourself an injury and go there first ...
Originally posted by DrKF I don't know whether you bother with secondary literature, but Iain Sinclair's long essay/monograph on 'crash' Book and film) is an exceptional piece of work in its own right, and this website is really good as well:
http://www.ballardian.com/
The incredible Dr Sinclair and his Hackney Hand Puppets. I see that the Hackney book finally emerged earlier this year. I wonder.
There was a time when I was awash with Ballard. A gateway drug if ever there was one. From Moorcock to Ballard to M. John Harrison to ... ?
Which of his books do you find least successful? Millenium People probably did the least for me, although it may have been a calculated ploy to win over McEwan readers ...
Originally posted by Bosse de Nage The incredible Dr Sinclair and his Hackney Hand Puppets. I see that the Hackney book finally emerged earlier this year. I wonder.
There was a time when I was awash with Ballard. A gateway drug if ever there was one. From Moorcock to Ballard to M. John Harrison to ... ?
Which of his books do you find least successful? Millenium People probably did the least for me, although it may have been a calculated ploy to win over McEwan readers ...
I'd have said 'Empire of the Sun', but then again I think if you come to it later on it maybe gives some insight in to the author. I've yet to read the last (semi-)autobiographical one, but imagine it will be more recognisably Ballardian - a phrase I was delighted to learn from the obituaries has actually made it in to the dictionary!
Have also yet to read the Sinclair Hackney book - maybe if I was still living in London I'd have made more of an effort...
I don't know exactly how to follow your line (Moorcock, Ballard, Harrison), but off at a bit of a tangent is Will Self, who no longer has to vie for the title of 'my favourite living British author' now Ballard is no longer with us...
Ballard
19 Apr '09 21:17
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