The Complete Short Stories - Softcover

Collins,J. G. Ballard,J G Ballard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007242298 ISBN 13: 9780007242290

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2010

Synopsis

First in a two volume collection of short stories by the acclaimed author of ‘Empire of the Sun’, ‘Crash’ and ‘Super-Cannes’. The new edition is introduced by Adam Thirwell.With eighteen novels over four decades – from ‘The Drowned World’ in 1962 to his final novel ‘Kingdom Come’ in 2006 – J.G. Ballard is known as one of Britain’s most celebrated and original novelists.However, during his long career he was also a prolific writer of short stories; in fact, many people consider that he is at his best in the short-story format. These highly influential stories have appeared in magazines such as New Worlds, Amazing Stories and Interzone, and in several separate collections, including ‘The Terminal Beach’, ‘The Venus Hunters’, ‘Vermilion Sands’, ‘Low-Flying Aircraft’ and ‘Myths of the Near Future’.Set out in the original order of publication and frequently the point of conception for ideas he further developed in his novels, these stories provide an unprecedented opportunity to see the imagination of one of Britain’s greatest writers at work. This edition is part of a new commemorative series of Ballard’s works, featuring introductions from a number of his admirers (including Robert Macfarlane, Iain Sinclair, James Lever and Ali Smith) and brand-new cover designs from the artist Stanley Donwood.His story ''The Garden of Time'', featured here in this volume, has inspired the 2024 Met Gala theme.

About this title

About the Author

J.G. Ballard was born in 1930 in Shanghai. After internment in a civilian prison camp, he and his family returned to England in 1946. He published his first novel, The Drowned World, in 1961. His 1984 bestseller 'Empire of the Sun' won the Guardian Fiction Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. It was later filmed by Steven Spielberg.

Review

`More than one thousand compelling pages from one of the most haunting, cogent and individual imaginations in contemporary literature' William Boyd `A marvel ... there is something a little shaming in reading Ballard: you have to face the fact that there exist writers with such fresh imaginations they can't write five pages without stumbling on an alternate world' Zadie Smith `Simply a master story writer - the maker of unforgettable artefacts in words' Jonathan Lethem `Indispensable ... probably the most original English writer of the last century' China Mieville

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0007242298
• ISBN 13: 9780007242290
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 784