The line between inner and outer landscapes is breaking down.
was the marked preoccupation of the paintings with the theme of world cataclysm, as if these long-incarcerated patients had sensed some seismic upheaval within the minds of their doctors and nurses.’ (Surveys indicate that wet dreams in many cases have no overt sexual content, whereas dreams with an overt sexual content in many cases do not result in orgasm.) The book opens: ‘A disquieting feature of this annual exhibition. An auto-crash can be more sexually stimulating than a pornographic picture. The nonsexual roots of sexuality are explored with a surgeon’s precision. The Atrocity Exhibition is a profound and disquieting book. In effect, you will be reading the book in the way it was written. Fairly soon, I hope, the fog will clear, and the underlying narrative will reveal itself. If the ideas or images seem interesting, scan the nearby paragraphs for anything that resonates in an intriguing way. Rather than start at the beginning of each chapter, as in a conventional novel, simply turn the pages until a paragraph catches your eye. Readers who find themselves daunted by the unfamiliar narrative structure of The Atrocity Exhibition – far simpler than it seems at first glance – might try a different approach. How many of us remember Abraham Zapruder, who filmed the Kennedy assassination in Dallas? Or Sirhan Sirhan, who murdered Robert Kennedy? At the end of each chapter I have provided a few notes that identify these lesser characters and set out the general background to the book. Other figures, though crucially important to the decades that followed, have begun to sink below the horizon. Together they helped to form the culture of celebrity that played such a large role in the 1960s, when I wrote The Atrocity Exhibition. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. Most of the film stars and political figures who appear in The Atrocity Exhibition are still with us, in memory if not in person – John F.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.ġ0 Plan for the Assassination of Jacqueline Kennedyġ5 The Assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy Considered as a Downhill Motor Raceįrom the reviews of The Atrocity Exhibition: Also by J.G. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.Īll rights reserved. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. The original edition first published in Great Britain by Jonathan Cape Ltd., 1970, and first published in paperback by Panther Books, 1972 This revised, expanded, annotated edition of The Atrocity Exhibition first published in a large format in Great Britain by Flamingo, 1993Ī revised, expanded, annotated and illustrated edition first published in the USA by Re/Search, 1990 Copyright © J G Ballard 1990 Ballard The Atrocity Exhibition with an Preface by William BurroughsĪ Flamingo Modern Classic edition published 2001 Copyright © J G Ballard 1993 The reading list that is forming is probably not to most people’s taste and I’m not sure it is to mine but if you have spare time then why no have a gander…. I’ve now started reading some ‘more interesting’ stuff as I have more time on my hands than I ever think I will have again. I then got caught up on all the documentaries that I thought were worth catching up with. The first couple of days I had no energy, ached all over and didn’t want to do anything. Social distancing has never been a problem (or choice) for me but it looks like I’ve got Coronavirus and have to isolate myself (again, something that isn’t new to me.) I’ve started a few other blogs but have forgotten my login to all and it is quicker to start another blog then go through the rigmarole of retrieving my details. I have moved from London and no longer use the number 43 bus. My life has changed somewhat since I last posted.