Crash in Reading 1001

Apr 24, 2017 Bryan--The Bee’s Knees rated it did not like it

Shelves: guardian-read, books-i-read-in-2017, boxall-read

From the blurb on the back cover, an unidentified copywriter notes that Crash is "A classic work of cutting-edge fiction, [exploring] the disturbing potentialities of contemporary society's increasing dependence on technology as an intermediary in human relations."

Okay, so--there's the hook. Sounds intriguing. And even though I realized going in that this book was going to have a heavy sexual content, I thought it might be worth it for the 'exploring disturbing potentialities in human relations' From the blurb on the back cover, an unidentified copywriter notes that Crash is "A classic work of cutting-edge fiction, [exploring] the disturbing potentialities of contemporary society's increasing dependence on technology as an intermediary in human relations."

Okay, so--there's the hook. Sounds intriguing. And even though I realized going in that this book was going to have a heavy sexual content, I thought it might be worth it for the 'exploring disturbing potentialities in human relations' etc etc etc. Disturbing is in the mind of the reader I suppose, and maybe 45 years after its initial release, Crash isn't as disturbing as it once was, but it certainly was unpleasant. Ballard pushes the reader's face into descriptions of every orifice, every type of discharge that the human body is capable of, every kind of real or imagined sexual position and liaison, and combines it with every possible way a human body can be broken and mangled in an automobile accident.

This is obvious after the first chapter. Thinking that there might be something throughout the course of the book or at the end that might make it worthwhile, I pressed on, skimming through the repetitive descriptions of bodies forcibly joined to other bodies or to the interior of their cars as they are crushed and pinned inside them. What is the point of this bizarre satire, I wondered. A warning? A prediction? An allegory for the state of things as they are now, but which we can't see clearly yet?

This is the second acclaimed novel by Ballard that I've read that I've been unable to appreciate--third if you count Cocaine Nights which I started and never finished. The other was Super-Cannes. Ballard writes from a point of view that I simply can't relate to. In many ways, his writing reminds me of the films of Jess Franco and Jean Rollin--scenes and events and characters that seem to exult in a decayed glorification of the perverse. Ballard escapes the ultimate silliness of these films due to the medium he works in--I never saw Cronenberg's adaptation of the book, so that might suffer from being transferred to visuals as well, I don't know--and so, at least here in Crash, there lurks feasibility, like a bad dream, the vileness of which makes you want to take a shower afterwards, or clean the underside of your fingernails. (Super-Cannes, to my mind, never reached that level of possibility)

In the end, these characters (and others that Ballard has written of) are debased to the extent that I can't draw any conclusions from their actions. They seem to belong to a kind of aristocracy of wealth and privilege that normal boundaries have no appeal to them, and it is only through acting out their bizarre fetishes and outré behavior that they feel as though they are actually alive. This is the aspect of Ballard that I have a difficult time relating to, although the situations he describes are not especially pleasant to me either. But that would be acceptable if I found in it something to think about. Instead I just feel like cleaning out from under my fingernails. ...more

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Jan 14, 2016 Patrick Robitaille rated it liked it

Shelves: 1001-challenge, 1001, in-english

***

As teenagers today would probably put it, Vaughan, Ballard and most of the other characters of this novel are "sick f**ks" who derive an unhealthy sexual obsession with cars and car crashes. This obsession is pushed to its ultimate limit when Vaughan fatally attempts in vain to create a (sexual) car crash with Elizabeth Taylor. This very graphic novel, almost on par on this level with American Psycho, deals with the conflict between humans and technology, and how the latter is affecting our l

...more

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Dec 27, 2020 Jamie Barringer (Ravenmount) rated it did not like it

Shelves: fiction, 1001-books-challenge, 2020-finished, 1001-authors

Awful book. Not recommended.

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Feb 15, 2015 Jen rated it did not like it

Shelves: contemporary, 1001, 1001-challenge, fiction, erotica, social-commentary, sexuality

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Nov 28, 2015 Jessica rated it liked it

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Dec 09, 2015 Raunaq Sahu rated it it was ok

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Feb 21, 2016 Pip rated it it was ok

Shelves: 1001-books-challenge

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Mar 14, 2016 Charisma marked it as to-read

Shelves: 2006-edition, 1900s, 1001-books-list

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Jul 09, 2016 Anna Fennell marked it as to-read

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Dec 07, 2016 Claire marked it as to-read

Shelves: 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die

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Jul 31, 2017 Chelsea marked it as to-read

Shelves: horror

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Oct 09, 2017 Elena marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks

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Dec 08, 2017 Amanda Dawn rated it it was ok

Shelves: 1001-books-challenge

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Jan 03, 2018 Sara marked it as to-read

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Oct 17, 2018 ☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣ marked it as to-read · review of another edition

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Jan 06, 2019 Bill marked it as to-read

Shelves: 1001-books

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Feb 05, 2019 Stacey added it

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Apr 19, 2019 Alec marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-total

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May 04, 2019 Cordelia rated it really liked it

Shelves: literature, classic, 20th-century-literature, novel, british-author, 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die, owned, 1970s, dnf, 2019-personal-challenge

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