The Atrocity Exhibition and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more


or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Colour:
Image not available

 
See 1 customer image
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.
Start reading The Atrocity Exhibition on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

The Atrocity Exhibition: Annotated (Flamingo Modern Classics) [Paperback]

J. G. Ballard (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £5.59 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.40 (30%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 6 left in stock (more on the way).
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.
Want delivery by Thursday, 23 May? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details

Formats

 Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition £3.99   -- --
Hardcover --   -- --
Paperback £5.59   -- --
Unknown Binding --   -- --
Books Trade-In
Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more.

Book Description

Publication Date: 4 Sep 2006 | Series: Flamingo Modern Classics

A prophetic and experimental masterpiece by J. G. Ballard, the acclaimed author of ‘Crash’ and ‘Super-Cannes’. This edition features explanatory notes from the author.

The irrational, all-pervading violence of the modern world is the subject of this extraordinary tour de force. The central character’s dreams are haunted by images of John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe, dead astronauts and car-crash victims as he traverses the screaming wastes of nervous breakdown. Seeking his sanity, he casts himself in a number of roles: H-bomber pilot, presidential assassin, crash victim, psychopath. Finally, through the black, perverse magic of violence he transcends his psychic turmoil to find the key to a bizarre new sexuality.

Frequently Bought Together

The Atrocity Exhibition: Annotated (Flamingo Modern Classics) + Crash
Price For Both: £11.58

Buy the selected items together
  • Crash by J. G. Ballard Paperback £5.99

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Product details

  • Paperback: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Perennial; Annotated edition (Reissue) edition (4 Sep 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0007116861
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007116867
  • Product Dimensions: 13 x 1.8 x 19.7 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 52,435 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

More About the Author

› Visit Amazon's J. G. Ballard Page
J. G. Ballard
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Product Description

Amazon Review

Easily one of the 20th century's most visionary writers, JG Ballard still lives far ahead of his time. Called his "prophetic masterpiece" by many, The Atrocity Exhibition practically lies outside of any literary tradition. Part science fiction, part eerie historical fiction, part pornography, its characters adhere to no rules of linearity or stability. This reissued edition features an introduction by William S Burroughs, extensive text commentary by Ballard and four additional stories. Of specific interest are the illustrations by underground cartoonist and professional medical illustrator Phoebe Gloeckner. Her ultra-realistic images of eroticism and destruction add an important dimension to Ballard's text. --Joaquim della Mirandella

Review

‘I would argue that The Atrocity Exhibition represents the zenith of the experimental novel in English. But Ballard’s marginalia are a tour de force, a wholly original work in their own right. One can hear Ballard’s voice as he offers a surreal evening class on his own work, life and preoccupations. This one is a must’ Will Self

‘Brilliant and unnerving…A writer with talent to burn’ The Times

‘These stories – “condensed novels”, Ballard has called them – are a high-water mark in English experimental fiction’ New York Times

See all Product Description

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?

› Explore similar items

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Definitely worth reading. 19 May 2003
By pygstone
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Quite a surreal book. Not sure I understood it completely but here goes...

The sexual pathology of the main protagonist is revealed in a series of psychosexual experiments involving the positioning of objects in the geometry of space time. These are attempts to unlock the latent sexuality of, among others, a motorway overpass, a particular arrangement of wrecked cars, or the angle between walls, along with the re-enactment of the (real or imaginary) deaths of the famous in an effort to achieve a sexual ideal; often personified by Elizabeth Taylor.

In each chapter the main character's identity is viewed from another angle, another facet of his personality, and we accompany him through his apparent psychoses. Even his character name changes throughout and sometimes the events and characters appear only in his mind. Other characters, such as Dr Nathan who is our window of rationality in this surreal world, or Karen Novotny the eternal victim, provide their necessary roles in the psychodrama.

I enjoyed reading this book and, having only read one other J.G. Ballard (The Crystal World), will no doubt read another of his work. However, I felt that The Atrocity Exhibition, good though it was, (ironically) didn't really reach the climax I expected. Maybe I just need to read it over again.

The annotation in this edition by J.G. Ballard is essential - although my copy does not have the illustrations mentioned above.

SGL

Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
No
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Ereader version full of incorrect words 6 Sep 2010
By Jwe
Format:Kindle Edition
I can only assume the Kindle version was scanned from hardcopy as it is full of mistranscriptions..."diem" repeatedly for "them" and dozens of others. Really spoils the read of this fantastic book. Amazon you really need to do something about this.
6 Comments | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
No
25 of 27 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Truly visionary 3 Oct 2005
By "ronthedog"
Format:Paperback
Will Self describes this book, on the cover, as representing "the zenith of the experimental novel in English. Ballard's marginalia are a tour de force, a wholy original work in their own right."

This annotated edition with an excellent introduction by William Burroughs and Ballard's own chapter notes, written with over twenty years hindsight, further enhances a novel that already made Ballard stand out as one of greatest soothsayers of the twentieth century.

Obsessively documenting his obsessions and preoccupations, this novel cuts deep into the fabric of contemporary society. Not an easy read but an invaluable testament of our time, now with added historic perspective.

Every good novel should change your life - this will alter your perceptions in an astonishing and radical manner. Not to be missed.

Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
No
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?   Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars Don't be fooled by pretentious critics palming this trash off on...
I think this book is only rated so highly because people FEEL as though they should rate it highly because it's a bit different and actual critics rated it as some sort of... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Zero
5.0 out of 5 stars Challenging but brilliant
By turns disturbing, inspiring, exciting and baffling, Ballard's at-the-time controversial work is a surreal examination of society's relationship with media, technology and... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Rod Williams
2.0 out of 5 stars Warning - Kindle Edition Full of Mistakes
Great book, obviously, but there are so many typographic errors in the Kindle edition that it really spoils the reading experience. Disappointing.
Published on 6 April 2011 by reader
3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but convoluted.
Why say it in five words, when you can say it in a hundred? I thought books, and hence written communication, were supposed to simplify a communicative exchange. Not this book. Read more
Published on 22 Jun 2009 by Jonny R
5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I ever read!
Yes, this is a difficult and complex book. Yes, it is dense, cryptic and multi-layered. Yes, it lacks a clear linear plot. Yes, it is packed with complex and repetitive images. Read more
Published on 30 Aug 2005
5.0 out of 5 stars amazing - the geometry of virtual un-reality
ballard himself said that every paragraph of this frightening, obscure and obtuse puzzle-fiction is a condensed novel. Read more
Published on 28 Aug 2005 by B. D. Hopkins
1.0 out of 5 stars Worst Book I Ever Read!
Perhaps not a popular opinion.
If you can get through a page of this book without finding the words 'geometry' or 'algebra' or 'equation' somewhere in there... Read more
Published on 10 Jan 2005
5.0 out of 5 stars Dont give up too soon!!!!
Perhaps the most bizarre and visionary work that I have read since Lindsay's "Voyage to Arcturus", at at times almost as inscrutable. Read more
Published on 21 July 2004 by silenticecream
5.0 out of 5 stars A rewarding read
Although it's one of Ballard's more cryptic works this is a very rewarding read. This large format edition provides plenty of room for notes in the margins expanding on and... Read more
Published on 12 Feb 2004 by Nicholas Dunn
5.0 out of 5 stars A rewarding read
Although it's one of Ballard's more cryptic works this is a very rewarding read. This large format edition provides plenty of room for notes in the margins expanding on and... Read more
Published on 12 Feb 2004 by Nicholas Dunn
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

There's a problem loading this menu at the moment.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.

    Your Shopping Basket is empty.

    Give it purpose -- fill it with books, DVDs, clothes, electronics and more.

    If you already have an account, sign in.

    There's a problem previewing your shopping basket at the moment.

    Check your Internet connection and go to your cart, or try again.

    View Shopping Basket (0 items)

      Customer Discussions

      This product's forum
      Discussion Replies Latest Post
      JG Ballard 1 9 Dec 2009
      JG Ballard 0 22 Oct 2009
      › See all 2 discussions...  
      Start a new discussion
      Topic:
      First post:
      Prompts for sign-in
       


      Active discussions in related forums
      Search Customer Discussions
         
      Related forums

      Listmania!

      Create a Listmania! list

      Look for similar items by category

      Feedback


      Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges