Book details

Book description

First published in 1970 and widely regarded as a prophetic masterpiece, this is a groundbreaking experimental novel by the acclaimed author of 'Crash' and 'Super-Cannes', who has supplied explanatory notes for this new edition.

When “The Atrocity Exhibition” was published in 1970 it went on to become a cult book and is now seen as one of JG Ballard's key works. It features many of the obsessions that recur in his later books such as “Empire of the Sun”, “High-Rise” and “Super-Cannes”, as well as the seed of his most controversial work, “Crash”.

In this revised addition, Ballard has added extensive annotations that help to unlock many of the mysteries of one of the most prophetic, enigmatic and original works of fiction of the late twentieth century. 'I would argue that The Atrocity Exhibition represents the zenith of the experimental novel in English. But Ballard's marginalia are a tour de force, a wholly original work in their own right. One can hear Ballard's voice as he offers a surreal evening class on his own work, life and preoccupations. This one is a must' Will Self

'Brilliant and unnerving…A writer with talent to burn' The Times

'These stories - “condensed novels”, Ballard has called them - are a high-water mark in English experimental fiction' New York Times

'A powerful book…Phrase and image are constantly disturbing and stimulating' Sunday Telegraph J. G. Ballard was born in 1930 in Shanghai, where his father was a businessman. After internment in a civilian prison camp, he and his family returned to England in 1946. His 1984 bestseller Empire of the Sun won the Guardian Fiction Prize. His controversial novel Crash was made into a film by David Cronenberg. His last novel was Kingdom Come, published in 2006; his autobiography Miracles of Life was published in 2008 to much acclaim. J. G. Ballard died in 2009.