Concrete Island
[English] By J.G. Ballard
Translated by Hu Lingyun
Shanghai People's Publishing House
A few seconds ago, six hundred yards from the M4 highway fork, a Jaguar was speeding, bursting tires, crashing through a temporary fence on the side of the road, and falling into a wasteland between three intersecting highways. The vehicle was reimbursed, but the driver, Maitland, was almost unharmed, confident that it was only a matter of time before he left this particular island of wild grass. Unbeknownst to everyone, everything around Maitland – the orderly civilized society, the company, the wives and children, the lovers, even the drivers and passengers in the passing cars – is participating in a spontaneous and huge conspiracy: deliberately ignoring his existence...
With his humorous brushwork, extraordinary imagination, and unique grotesque aesthetics, Ballard sharply identifies the dark and paradoxical fringes of everyday life in Concrete Island.
When it comes to cyberpunk, Jittersen, Netflix hit drama "Love, Death and Robots", Shanghai Xinhua Road, who do you think of?
The British writer J.G. Ballard has these labels on his body —
Many European and American science fiction giants, including Neil Gaiman, highly regarded his work; Bruce Stirling, one of the founders of cyberpunk, once exaggerated that "we don't deserve to shine his shoes"; his influence was also enough to "go out of the circle", susan Sontag called him "the wisest voice in contemporary fiction".
His work was favored by film adaptations for its bold ideas, with Spielberg adapting his autobiographical "Empire of the Sun" to recreate his wartime childhood in "Longhua Concentration Camp"; Cohenenberg bringing his shocking "Crash" to the screen; "Shakerson" Tom Hiddleston starred in his dystopian black novel "Skyscraper"; and his "Nebula Award" nominated short story "Drowned Giants" became the "second season light" of Netflix's "Love, Death and Robots".
But these labels can hardly sum up the richness and brilliance of their work. Generally speaking, Ballard is defined as "a science fiction writer", but his work is different from mainstream science fiction. His works bring together a large number of strange imaginations, and the prediction of mankind's "near future" is terrifyingly accurate. He eschewed traditional sci-fi genres such as space travel, time travel, aliens, and superpowers in favor of writing about the decadence and disaster of the near future "five minutes later." Ballard argues: "The great changes that will take place in the near future are not on the moon or Mars, but on Earth; what people need to explore is inner space, not outer space." The only truly alien planet is Earth. ”
So, why did Ballard's science fiction become a representative of "New Wave" science fiction, and what are the characteristics of his work?
How does Ballard's "Urban Disaster Trilogy" explore the establishment of civilization and the collapse of order at the technological, class, and psychological levels?
In addition to Ballard's novels, what are the wonderful themes and dimensions of his short stories?
Why is it said that the only truly alien planet is Earth?
This book-sharing session will take you on a journey into Ballard's heterogeneous sci-fi world and a closer look at two of his works: the recently launched Chinese version of Concrete Island and the much-loved Skyscraper.
Event information
Venue: Zhongshuge Xuhui Branch (1st Floor, Greenland Colorful City, No. 759 Longhua Middle Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai)
Introduction of guests
Jiang Xiaoyuan: Chair Professor of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Doctoral Supervisor, Dean of the Institute of History of Science and Culture of Science: Literary translator and writer.
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Editor: Xu Nuo