Book 35 - J .G. Ballard "High Rise"

[jazzy_dave]

J .G. Ballard "High Rise" (Flamingo)






This is the story of a high-rise in London, a huge building with hundreds of apartments, and things like a school, supermarket, hairdresser, swimming pools and a play ground for the resident. It is obvious that the higher up you get, the higher up in class you go, with the richest people (including the architect of the building) living high up, and the lower class living on the bottom floors. The mood the in building changes over a few months, first subtly, but later quite drastically. A war is starting to get to the top, with the bottom floors aiming for the top and the top ones coming together to keep them out. Pretty soon no one is leaving the building anymore or cares anything about the outside, the world in the high-rise is all that matters.

Even though the things that happened in this book aren't nice by any means, I couldn't stop reading because of some morbid fascination I had with the story. I just had to know how bad it could get, and how the main character ends up eating a dog on his balcony (the first line in the book). The story was pretty fascinating, but because this was a bit too unreal (no police or family ever investigates? no body has any qualms about fighting, starving, stealing or killing?), I couldn't really connect. However, i will read more novels by J. G. Ballard in the future.

Comments

[swordznsorcery.livejournal.com]

Oh, excellent. I love a bit of Ballard. He really makes you think. Since you suggest interest in more of his stuff, I'd recommend the so-called "environment trilogy". It's not a trilogy in the traditional sense, as the characters and scenarios aren't linked; they're just three books which share a theme of environmental crisis. "The Drought" depicts a world without water; "The Drowned World" is the other extreme of course (and highly topical in this time of projected sea level rise); and "The Crystal World" is the story of a slightly more sci-fi type threat. His classic "Empire Of The Sun" is worthwhile too - and of course so is the film.

[siduri1959]

This is supposedly going to be made into a film with Hiddleston playing Laing. I have a copy of this book on my Kindle to read at some point.

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

*HUGS*

[thespian15.livejournal.com]

Does London have high rises? :p
Sounds like a lot of fiction in that book. Poor people don't live in high rises. lol.........
Hugs, Jon

[kabuldur.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a can't-put-down book.

I will keep an eye out for this author!

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

because this was a bit too unreal (no police or family ever investigates? no body has any qualms about fighting, starving, stealing or killing?)

Ballard does that a lot. He examines this one idea to the exclusivity of other forces. On the one hand, it's not very realistic. On the other, it keeps the issue distilled to its core without other distractions.