J.G. Ballard


Born
in Shanghai, China
November 15, 1930

Died
April 19, 2009

Genre

Influences


James Graham "J. G." Ballard (15 November 1930 – 19 April 2009) was an English novelist, short story writer, and essayist. Ballard came to be associated with the New Wave of science fiction early in his career with apocalyptic (or post-apocalyptic) novels such as The Drowned World (1962), The Burning World (1964), and The Crystal World (1966). In the late 1960s and early 1970s Ballard focused on an eclectic variety of short stories (or "condensed novels") such as The Atrocity Exhibition (1970), which drew closer comparison with the work of postmodernist writers such as William S. Burroughs. In 1973 the highly controversial novel Crash was published, a story about symphorophilia and car crash fetishism; the protagonist becomes sexually arous ...more

Average rating: 3.68 · 197,955 ratings · 17,673 reviews · 469 distinct worksSimilar authors
High-Rise

3.61 avg rating — 38,686 ratings — published 1975 — 15 editions
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Crash

3.60 avg rating — 29,995 ratings — published 1973 — 4 editions
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Empire of the Sun

3.98 avg rating — 22,479 ratings — published 1984 — 4 editions
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The Drowned World

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3.47 avg rating — 20,661 ratings — published 1962 — 102 editions
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Concrete Island

3.68 avg rating — 10,374 ratings — published 1974 — 59 editions
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The Atrocity Exhibition

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3.76 avg rating — 7,176 ratings — published 1969 — 63 editions
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Cocaine Nights

3.56 avg rating — 6,704 ratings — published 1996 — 2 editions
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Super-Cannes

3.72 avg rating — 5,089 ratings — published 2000 — 6 editions
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The Crystal World

3.60 avg rating — 4,806 ratings — published 1966 — 6 editions
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Running Wild

3.56 avg rating — 3,477 ratings — published 1988 — 9 editions
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More books by J.G. Ballard…
Empire of the Sun The Kindness of Women
(2 books)
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3.96 avg rating — 23,935 ratings

The Complete Short Stories:... The Complete Short Stories:...
(2 books)
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4.38 avg rating — 2,591 ratings

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Quotes by J.G. Ballard  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“I believe in the power of the imagination to remake the world, to release the truth within us, to hold back the night, to transcend death, to charm motorways, to ingratiate ourselves with birds, to enlist the confidences of madmen.”
J.G. Ballard

“Perhaps the future belongs to magic, and it's we women who control magic.”
J. G. Ballard, Rushing to Paradise

“Civilised life, you know, is based on a huge number of illusions in which we all collaborate willingly. The trouble is we forget after a while that they are illusions and we are deeply shocked when reality is torn down around us.”
J.G. Ballard

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