Just finished this.
Thoughts on this book and its author?
you tell me, you're the one that's just read it
Ballard is probably my favorite author. his themes of the intersection of media/technology with humanity, surgical prose, and subversive spirit strongly resonate with me. Why I Want to Fuck Ronald Reagan might be one of the greatest things i've ever read.
>>8027404
Ballard is great.
Love the Atrocity Exhibition, Drought and Hi-Rise
One could argue that sometimes his characters seem the same, but then, one could argue that many a post-modern man seems the same.
I really dislike Ballard's style. It feels stilted. The sentences don't flow into each other, it's stop - go - stop - go. Extremely frustrating to read.
>>8028104
I kind of second this. The dialogue especially is extremely stilted and unnatural. I'm 100% sure it's deliberate, but I can't really into it.
I still like some of the short stories, though. If you want to see Ballard writing really normally, with more flow, try the novel Empire of the Sun (dat first line) or the short story The Drowned Giant.
>>8027410
>/lit/ - Tell me what to read, then tell me what I should think about it, The Board.
>>8028082
The Atrocity Exhibition is his best if you ask me. It circumvents ballard's typical issues with stilted prose / characterization because of its highly abstracted nature.
However if you're not feeling as adventurous, start with High-Rise
Its a shame his last book, Kingdom Come, was reduced to airport thriller.
Great guy.
>>8028510
Haven't got round to reading it yet, but it's hilarious that in every chapter the protagonist has a slightly different scientist-in-a-1950s-B-movie name.
>>8028319
...actually I exaggerate when I say I can't into it. I actually really like some of his weirder stuff like The Voices of Time.
