“He has sometimes likened his style of writing to that of a medic performing a post-mortem on a raped child—whose job is to analyse the injuries, not to give vent to the rage that is felt.” —SUSIE MACKENZIE ON J. G. BALLARD, GUARDIAN, SEPT. 6TH, 2003 If Ballard’s is the model for the experimental, political novel, how is the (un)dead raped child supposed to write, even if she survives? Perform a postmortem on herself. Give vent to the rage that is felt. They are incompossible, apparently. It’s one or the other, science or howling. It’s easier to play dead.
