J.G. Ballard

British author J. G. Ballard on David Lynch's Blue Velvet  (originally published in Time Out  in 1993): Blue Velvet is, for me, the best film of the 1980s - surreal, voyeuristic, subversive and even a little corrupt in its manipulation of the audience. In short, the perfect dish for the jaded palates of the 1990s. But a thicket of puzzles remains. First, why do the sensible young couple, played by Kyle MacLachlan and Laura Dern, scheme to break into the apartment of the brutalized nightclub singer (Isabella Rossellini) and risk involving themselves with the psychopathic gangster - Dennis Hopper in his most terrifying screen ... Read Full Story

Geoff Manaugh is the author of BLDGBLOG and the forthcoming BLDGBLOG Book , previewed on Omnivoracious last week . I thought his unique perspective would be of interest to readers curious about J.G. Ballard and his worldview. I hope you enjoy his short essay. It encapsulates a lot of the elements I find fascinating about Ballard. - Jeff VanderMeer Between the Tower and the Parking Lot: A Spatial Appreciation of J.G. Ballard by Geoff Manaugh J.G. Ballard, who died on Sunday at the age of 78, leaves behind far more than his status as a "cult author," science fiction novelist, or agent provocateur . ... Read Full Story

In a BBC survey at the turn of this century, J. G. Ballard listed his top ten writers of the last millenium. It's interesting to note how many of the selected are associated with twentieth-century satire and dystopian writing - authors who held a powerful influence over Ballard's own work: 1. William Shakespeare The universal writer and poet. 2. Miguel Cervantes Don Quixote is the first great anti-hero. 3. Jonathan Swift The most intelligent writer who ever lived. 4. Herman Melville Moby Dick is the greatest ocean of a novel the human imagination has ever sailed. 5. John Keats The sweetest literary poet of ... Read Full Story

In a BBC survey at the turn of this century, J. G. Ballard listed his top ten writers of the last millenium. It's interesting to note how many of the selected are associated with twentieth-century satire and dystopian writing - authors who held a powerful influence over Ballard's own work: 1. William Shakespeare The universal writer and poet. 2. Miguel Cervantes Don Quixote is the first great anti-hero. 3. Jonathan Swift The most intelligent writer who ever lived. 4. Herman Melville Moby Dick is the greatest ocean of a novel the human imagination has ever sailed. 5. John Keats The sweetest literary poet of ... Read Full Story

JG Ballard, a cult author best known for his book "Empire of the Sun" about his childhood struggle to survive in a Japanese internment camp, has died after a long illness, his agent said. He was 78. Margaret Hanbury announced his death from cancer on Sunday with "great sadness", saying he had been ill "for several years". Hanbury, who had been Ballard's agent for more than 25 years, described his "acute and visionary" observation of the world, which led him to produce disquieting novels and won him a cult following. Despite regularly being referred to as a science fiction writer, Ballard said what he ... Read Full Story