The atrocity exhibition
by J. G. Ballard · first published 1970
60% recommend40% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Fragmented, bleak, and dense experimental fiction with cold satire of modern life and textured, Gibson-like prose. Suits those who enjoy challenging, avant-garde sci-fi.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
First published in 1970 and widely regarded as a prophetic masterpiece, this is a groundbreaking experimental novel by the acclaimed author of Crash and Super-Cannes, who has supplied explanatory notes for this new edition.
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I'm the opposite — I wish there were more writers who were capable of writing with the same kind of rich texture as Gibson. J. G. Ballard comes close; The Atrocity Exhibition is very Gibsonesque in places, though with a much bleaker sense of alienation than anything Gibson wrote. Cormac McCarthy is also great, though not like Gibson at all. People seem to like Neal Stephenson's…
on “William Gibson has written a comic” ↗…of quite meh quality, it's possible that the running-out occurred at a 3D showing, making the ‘illusion’ story more plausible. Lastly, since J.G. Ballard is mentioned, I'll say that both ‘Crash’ and ‘Atrocity Exhibition’ are very cool. Aside from obvious connotations to real people's habits, just the atmosphere of the books is engrossing in the weirdest way. They tickle the brain in a manner that's only similar to what…
on ““Mother Will Be Pleased”: How It Feels to Be Run over (1900)” ↗The Atrocity Exhibition is a strange book: I both found it very hard to read and utterly enthralling and fascinating.
on “J.G. Ballard: My Favorite Books” ↗…"The Concentration City", "Studio 5, The Stars", "A Question of Re-Entry", "Billenium", and "The Garden of Time". While I've always enjoyed Ballard's coldly satirical perspective on modern life (The Atrocity Exhibition maybe being the pinnacle of this), I think he's at his best when he gets looser and a bit weird. Nature succumbing to strange mutations feature in The Drowned World, but The Crystal World is absolutely…
on “JG Ballard's Apocalyptic Art” ↗…comics (1964–1970) James Tiptree Jr. - Up the Walls of the World (1978) Jane Gaskell - A Sweet, Sweet Summer (1969) J.G. Ballard - Crash (1973) J.G. Ballard - High-Rise (1975) J.G. Ballard - The Atrocity Exhibition (written 1967, published 1970) J.G. Ballard - The Burning World (1964) J.G. Ballard - The Crystal World (1966) Joanna Russ - We Who Are About To… (serialized 1976; in book form, 1977) John Brunner…
on “New Wave Sci-Fi: 75 Best Novels of 1964–1983” ↗…Other Stories and Other Stories" (Tracking Song, The Doctor of Death Island), and "The Fifth Head of Cerberus" for its three novellas. If you want something much more difficult, try J.G. Ballard's The Atrocity Exhibition. He was influenced by Burroughs (Naked Lunch would be another recommendation here if you can stomach the Beatnik depravity within) and wrote a novel that will challenge its reader in many ways. It's very…
on “Short Little Difficult Books” ↗Of possible interest, Ballard's The Atrocity Exhibition is themed abut mass media intrusion into private mind spaces, Carey's Bliss about an ad exec whose heart stops, re-awakening convinced he is in hell (but merely life with the scales fallen from his eyes).…
on “An Inside Look at the Token Reseller Market” ↗I still have my hardcopy that I bought at a punk music/book store in the 80s. It's on a shelf next to titles like J. G. Ballard's The Atrocity Exhibition, RE/Search #6/7: Industrial Culture Handbook, and Book of the SubGenius.
on “Anarchist Cookbook (1971) [pdf]” ↗> Putting Ballard on a master’s course list, as I’ve done a couple of times, provokes a reaction that’s both funny and illuminating. Asked to read Crash or The Atrocity Exhibition, the more vociferous students invariably express their revulsion, while the more reflective ones voice their frustration that, although the ideas might be compelling, the prose “isn’t good.” I've been…
on “J. G. Ballard’s Brilliant, “Not Good” Writing” ↗I think his prose quality varies widely from work to work. Typically it's not great. In Atrocity Exhibition it's beyond bland, though--almost bureaucratic in its mechanical periphrases, repetitive, clinical and bizarre. I can't imagine that's not intentional. And Crash, if you can stomach it, is outright pungent.…
on “J. G. Ballard’s Brilliant, “Not Good” Writing” ↗…Crystal World are both fantastic and unusual for the genre. The short stories are often excellent, and in my opinion some of his most original work is in this period. The major transition came with The Atrocity Exhibition, a "cut up" novel that was more Cronenberg/Borroughs/Lynch than what came before, and magnified themes that had been emerging in his short stories. Alienation, pop culture fetishism, clinical descriptions…
on “We are living in a version of the future out of J.G. Ballard or William Gibson” ↗