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..”
