Crash in Transgressive Fiction

Nov 08, 2017 Erin the Avid Reader ⚜BFF's with the Cheshire Cat⚜ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, is-a-movie, my-book-reviews, super-weird, adult, the-human-brain-and-body

This hallucinatory novel written by the Baron of Eloquence, J.G Ballard both disgusts and intrigues, and is a both I love yet cannot find myself recommending to a lot of people. Granted, I have acquaintances that would certainly raise their eyebrows at this novel's liberal use of the word "penis" and this book's constant mentions of the corporeal fluids related to its functions. I'm sure even my more progressive friends would find parts of this book repugnant and gag-worthy, and in many ways its This hallucinatory novel written by the Baron of Eloquence, J.G Ballard both disgusts and intrigues, and is a both I love yet cannot find myself recommending to a lot of people. Granted, I have acquaintances that would certainly raise their eyebrows at this novel's liberal use of the word "penis" and this book's constant mentions of the corporeal fluids related to its functions. I'm sure even my more progressive friends would find parts of this book repugnant and gag-worthy, and in many ways its certainly both of these. This is a novel where I couldn't eat nor drink while reading it, as its graphic, yet incredibly realistic descriptions of violence, sex, perversions, and genitals are so sharply described it made me clench my thighs together and my toes curl as I read through. This book has insultingly been advertised as an erotic novel, yet it is as far from "erotic" as you can get, despite sexual encounters and related proclivities are nearly discussed and described on almost every page. I do not know many people who would be affectively turned on by this books description of "labial mucous" or "hair-lined arch of a damp perineum".

This book is not meant to arouse or elicit a gasp of disapproval. Sex acts are so down-to-Earth and described so viscerally its almost uncomfortable. It's almost as if Ballard was aware that sex is no just so much a vanilla, sweet act and is instead an exchange of masculine and feminine body fluids. In fact, if you want your children to be virgins all their lives or you simply don't want to worry about them screwing their brains out with other teenagers they barely know, I'll say this novel will suffice in making them repulsed by the act. Also, the weird violence depicted in this novel from car crashes will make them scared to drive one ton of steel down the highway when they're 16.

While I'm not an old person by any means (I haven't even departed from my teenage years yet), I can see why young people are fascinated by this book yet cannot bring themselves to finish it. It uses the same words repetitively and Ballard's prose is too long and eloquent from sexy literature, but that's what makes this book fantastic. Some paragraphs in this novel alone are genuinely works of art. Fantastically realistic is how I could best describe it, really. There were some sentences that literally took my breathe away, and I had to close the book and contemplate what I just read before waiting a day to prod forth. Crash is a short book, but it may take you weeks to finish it.

By the time I finished this novel, I felt that I had discovered a new art form and a new writing style. I am eager to pursue Ballard's other works, sans Empire of the Rising Sun, for reasons too ranty to discuss in this review. ...more

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Nov 27, 2017 Grace rated it liked it

One of the weirdest books I've read. Didn't hate it but struggled the whole way through. So so warped. At this stage have only ever read one other J G. Ballard book, High Rise, and preferred that much more. ...more

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Jul 11, 2013 Sam Funderburk rated it did not like it

Shelves: did-not-finish-terrible

Worst writing ever. I understand it was to disconnect you from the characters, but my god I refuse to spend another second on this repetitive nonsense.

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