Concrete island
by J. G. Ballard · first published 1974
78% recommend22% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A short, unsettling 1970s novel about a man stranded on a patch of land between motorway lanes. Its take on modern society feels prescient, and it suits sharp, high-concept fiction.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
A 35-year-old architect is driving home from his London office when his car swerves and crashes onto a traffic island lying below three converging motorways. Uninjured, he climbs the embankment to seek help, but no one will stop for him and he is trapped on the island, where he remains.
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Maybe you know it but I think you'd also like novels by J.G. Ballard. e.g. "Concrete Island" or "High Rise".
on “Ask HN: Which book have you re-read the most times? how many times?” ↗Concrete Island by JG Ballard Libra by Don Delilo Deep Water by Patricia Highsmith
on “Ask HN: What were the best books you read this year?” ↗Have you read Concrete Island by J. G. Ballard?
on “Marion Smith, the World’s Most Prolific Cave Explorer, Dies at 80” ↗I can recommend the excellent novels Concrete Island [0] and High-Rise [1] from the same author. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_Island [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Rise_(novel)
on “Report on an Unidentified Space Station” ↗…World War 3, The Intensive Care Unit, The Gioconda of the Twilight Noon The novella, Running Wild, might be a good place to start. With his novels, I would read the big three from the 70's (Crash!, Concrete Island, High Rise), and then maybe the two best of his latter period (Cocaine Nights, Super-Cannes).
on ““I can't stop comparing everything to Black Mirror”” ↗…checked out a lot of Ballard books from the library, some of which I read and some of which I still have. I really like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Rise_(novel) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_Island I find it hard to believe that https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hello_America didn't have some impact on Fallout New Vegas.
on “J.G. Ballard: My Favorite Books” ↗I loved High rise and Concrete Island. He was prescient about what modern and current day society looks like. I will give his other works a read. I tried reading Crash multiple times but it was a bit too gory for me.
on “The Illuminated Man: an unconventional portrait of JG Ballard” ↗I just read Concrete Island by JG Ballard and surely it was something. I do want to check out The Crystal World. The cover art on these books is just the bomb.
on “New Wave Sci-Fi: 75 Best Novels of 1964–1983” ↗Ironically, the hardcover version of "Concrete Island" that I had was ... solid grey! :| It was probably a book-club edition because it was a very small-format hardcover.
on “New Wave Sci-Fi: 75 Best Novels of 1964–1983” ↗