JG Ballard
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Another Prophecy Fulfilled September 02, 2024
When modernity itself seems to be tearing apart at the seams, best to turn to J. G. Ballard.The English novelist, who died in 2009, retains his prophetic edge; while the West has yet to become an actual Orwellian nightmare—the elections still free an...
Ballard Predicted the Collapse of the Middle Class August 28, 2024
These lines from J.G. Ballard’s 2003 novel Millennium People were thought-provoking, yet not wholly convincing 21 years ago. They have, however, become more and more plausible with the passing of time. In a development whose causes and significance h...
The Met Gala Is a Ballardian Nightmare May 07, 2024
For weeks now, a timer on the Vogue website has been ticking off the seconds, the anticipation within the fashion world bursting at the seams. But finally: the 2024 Met Gala is here.There is, however, something different about this evening’s show. Th...
Sex and Smashed Steel April 02, 2024
Today’s social-media landscape—a phantasmagoric combination of cruel panopticon and giant video game replete with pornographic sex and livestreamed atrocity—would not have surprised British novelist James Graham Ballard, whose books prophesied our ob...
J.G. Ballard: My Favorite Books February 12, 2024
As I grow older — I’m now in my early 60s — the books of my childhood seem more and more vivid, while most of those that I read 10 or even five years ago are completely forgotten. Not only can I remember, half a century later, my first readings of “T...
