Customer Reviews

J.G. Ballard (Re-Search 8/9)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
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This Re/Search volume includes a comprehensive bibliography and numerous interviews with Ballard, most done during the 80's. I was amazed to see an 80's interview with ballard by Grahme Ravell, who has come into fame in his own right since then. Re/Search Ballard also has numerous excerpts as well as The Atrocity Exibition in full. The volume is filled with intriguing Ballard quotes, photos and other Ballard miscellany that would surely be difficult or impossible to find anywhere else. Well packaged, informative and useful. For the Ballard fan, not the new reader.

Buy this book and read a few pages every morning. Your days will be better because if it. The man has vision, and reading his words can help you focus your own. Great book.

This book is an amazing introduction to the works of a man with great thoughts. The introductory interview contains almost too much information and opinions; it is hard to wrap your mind around. But for those of you up to the challenge, it is great reading. Ballard's fiction and non-fiction excerpts are all enticing and the biography is very interesting, giving justice to the very exciting life Ballard has lived. An excellent read for anyone interested in finding a new author, or for those who simply want to read more of Ballard's works.

If you're a fan of Ballard, this is definitely worth reading. If think you may be a fan, it may be even more useful. It may seem pricey for only 176 pages, but don't be fooled: the book is 8.5" x 11" and contains a lot of material.

The book has 8 sections. Most importantly, they include Interviews, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Criticism, and a Reference section that includes a two page piece by Ballard entitled "What I believe."

The fiction section includes some things readers may have already read (Ch.1 of Crash, and a portion of the Atrocity Exhibition.) But there are other interesting short pieces that may be more difficult to find (Notes Towards a Mental Breakdown and Sixty Minute Zoom). The same can be said about the Non-Fiction section.

I think the book really shines in the first 54 pages which contain three interviews with Ballard. These early interviews (early 1980s), along with "What I believe," really give the reader a sense of what Ballard is getting at as he weaves his re-occuring theme of psychopathology throughout his novels. You get a great sense of the man and his beliefs. They give the novice Ballard fan much more insight into what exactly Ballard is getting at throughout his works, and will likely make his novels much easier to grasp.

In sum, I am very satisfied with this book. I have other Ballard products from RE Search (J.G. Ballard: Quotes and J.G. Ballard: Conversations) and have consistently been impressed with the quality of product that RE Search puts out.

A must for Ballard Fans and a great introduction to Ballard

This issue of RE Search includes loads of interviews and material by Ballard. Combined with select excerpts from his books, 'RE Search J.G. Ballard' quickly paints a vivid portrait of Ballard's unique and prophet view of the future (and present.)

This book chiefly gives an overview of Ballard's philosophy and future-shock psychosis; an obsessive and disturbing view of contemporary culture, often focusing on the media and sexuality. You won't find many laughs here, or great stories (buy his novels for that.) Instead, RE Search provides a rather dry and scientific document of England's greatest futurist and visionary.