The Kindness of Women
Book 10!
The Kindness of Women
By J.G. Ballard
Here's what Barnes and Noble says:
Ballard here writes a brilliant hybrid of autobiography and fiction. The sequel to The Empire of the Sun, this work puts his earlier account of a boy’s experiences in occupied Shanghai in the context of a lifetime. Ballard’s eye has never been more cinematic, and his writing, especially in the love scenes, is a masterful blend of the raw and the tender.
And me:
I wasn't really sure about this book, pretty much all the way until the end of it. There were parts I liked and parts I was eh about. But the ending just made me smile so much that I know I liked the book.
I picked this up because I read Empire of the Sun a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it (and as I said then, really enjoyed the movie). This is the same main character, and it's much more obvious now how much of the story is autobiographical. When I stop to think back to some of the events in the first book, it makes me more amazed that it probably really happened.
The last several chapters of the book take place while making the movie Empire of the Sun. It completely took me by surprise because he never talks about writing the book until those chapters. I really loved that he did this. He talks about being an extra in the movie and then having that scene cut so he's never actually in it. Then there's a chapter with him going to LA and NY for the premieres. At one point Jim is talking about how he thinks he's going to write another book about his life in England... that book is this book. It's a neat little flipping around of reality and it really made me smile.
I really recommend these two books, but you really need to read them in order.
I know that J.G. Ballard wrote more books, but these two are the only ones that are autobiographical/fiction. I don't really have the urge to read any of his other ones. Maybe it's because I know him so well from these books.
10 / 50 books. 20% done!
The Kindness of Women
By J.G. Ballard
Here's what Barnes and Noble says:
Ballard here writes a brilliant hybrid of autobiography and fiction. The sequel to The Empire of the Sun, this work puts his earlier account of a boy’s experiences in occupied Shanghai in the context of a lifetime. Ballard’s eye has never been more cinematic, and his writing, especially in the love scenes, is a masterful blend of the raw and the tender.
And me:
I wasn't really sure about this book, pretty much all the way until the end of it. There were parts I liked and parts I was eh about. But the ending just made me smile so much that I know I liked the book.
I picked this up because I read Empire of the Sun a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it (and as I said then, really enjoyed the movie). This is the same main character, and it's much more obvious now how much of the story is autobiographical. When I stop to think back to some of the events in the first book, it makes me more amazed that it probably really happened.
The last several chapters of the book take place while making the movie Empire of the Sun. It completely took me by surprise because he never talks about writing the book until those chapters. I really loved that he did this. He talks about being an extra in the movie and then having that scene cut so he's never actually in it. Then there's a chapter with him going to LA and NY for the premieres. At one point Jim is talking about how he thinks he's going to write another book about his life in England... that book is this book. It's a neat little flipping around of reality and it really made me smile.
I really recommend these two books, but you really need to read them in order.
I know that J.G. Ballard wrote more books, but these two are the only ones that are autobiographical/fiction. I don't really have the urge to read any of his other ones. Maybe it's because I know him so well from these books.
10 / 50 books. 20% done!