High-Rise
by J. G. Ballard · first published 1975
47% recommend53% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Satirical dystopian novel about a luxury apartment tower that collapses into tribal violence, often compared to Lord of the Flies; praised as a sharp look at thin social veneer and a fun, readable Ballard pick.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
High-Rise is a 1975 novel by British writer J. G. Ballard. The story describes the disintegration of a luxury high-rise building as its affluent residents gradually descend into violent chaos. As with Ballard's previous novels Crash (1973) and Concrete Island (1974), High-Rise inquires into the ways in which modern social and technological landscapes could alter the human psyche in provocative and hitherto unexplored ways. It was adapted into a film of the same name, in 2015, by director Ben Wheatley.
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And, yet again, a dystopian J G Ballard (late British sci-fi author and author of Empire Of The Sun) story becomes reality.. Ballard's High Rise (1975) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Rise - shares a lot of similarities with this outcome (though the tower in the book was in London) and is a fine read to boot. The eventual outcome is the formation…
on “Venezuela's squatter skyscrapers; as the country declines” ↗One of JG Ballards best novels is High-Rise, a sort of Lord of the Flies in an apartment tower. It's a lovely skewering of the social mores of proper English people, as well as a musing on the thin veneer of polite society. Only tangentially related,…
on “Inside Caracas' Tower of David, the World's Tallest Slum” ↗High Rise is possibly his most readable. The Elements series (The Drowned World, The Crystal World, The Drought and The Wind From Nowhere) is very good, Drowned World being the best, IMO. Unlimited Dream Company…
on ““I can't stop comparing everything to Black Mirror”” ↗Ever read or watched High Rise by JG Ballard? Afterwards you might not be so keen on living in the same skyscraper as you work.
on “WeWork IPO Shows It's the Most Magical Unicorn” ↗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?” ↗This is honestly the most hilarious possible misread of J.G. Ballard, perhaps one of the most overtly politically ideological sci-fi authors who ever wrote. Read High-Rise (or watch the surprisingly good movie!). Read Concentration City.
on “Report on an Unidentified Space Station (1982)” ↗J. G. Ballard's "High-Rise" and "The Drowned World" are both excellent reads with very interesting stuff going on.
on “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division” ↗I absolutely love JG Ballard. Crash is a classic, and High Rise is a fun one.
on “The Illuminated Man: an unconventional portrait of JG Ballard” ↗…about the same as predictions of the 1980s from 1972, 1990s from 1982, etc. All of the ideas seem tired because science fiction has done them to death so the apartment building is the one in Ballard’s High-Rise, the edible wrap comes from an M.F. Doom song, etc.
on “Could this be a glimpse into life in the 2030s?” ↗I didn't like the movie of High-Rise because it changes the whole point of the book. In the movie it was conflict between the rich and poor people in the apartment tower (basically redoing Snowpiercer but in a building). In the book, it…
on “JG Ballard's Apocalyptic Art” ↗Not mentioned in the article, but this was what J. G. Ballard's novel (and later film) High Rise was based on.
on “The Barbican” ↗“Everybody hates each other here.” That reminded me of J. G. Ballard’s “High-Rise”, a 1970s novel with a unique twist on the post-apocalyptic landscape familiar from scifi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Rise_(novel)
on “The downside to life in a supertall tower (2021)” ↗Literally just finished High-Rise last week (which was good but not amazing) and I disagree with the essayist's take here that Ballard's just-good-enough prose is somehow reflective of the themes he writes about: > Not only are his rhythmic…
on “J. G. Ballard’s Brilliant, “Not Good” Writing” ↗I should read Ballard's "High Rise" before boarding this ship. Or maybe Lord Of The Flies. I can picture the marauding feral packs of founders roaming the halls of the ship, ducking for cover behind burning barricades fashioned from Aeron…
on “Blueseed: Visa-free startup platform on a ship 30 minutes from Silicon Valley” ↗…shipwreck." And we appear to have shot the ensign who was looking out for icebergs. "They Live" was a documentary. "Idiocracy" is far too optimistic to be accurate. Reflexive modernity has made Ballard's "High Rise" into a love story.
on “'Capitalism has to become more humane': a Stanford economist on big tech” ↗