What do You think about The Atrocity Exhibition (1990)?
Revisited this right before Christmas...Check out this back cover blurb:When the ATROCITY EXHIBITION was originally printed (1970), Nelson Doubleday saw a copy and was so horrified he ordered the entire press run shredded.What Nelson Doubleday allegedly saw that made him figuratively soil himself in righteous indignation was one of the stories near the end of this book entitled 'Why I Want To Fuck Ronald Reagan.' Legend has it that a wag distributed copies of this story (minus title and headings) at the 1980 Republican National Convention and it was roundly praised by attendees as a thorough psychological analysis of Reagan's public appeal. Heh heh.This is easily one of Ballard's most experimental works. Arguments can be made as to whether this is a collection of loosely connected short stories or an actual novel. A sloppy summary of this book would be that the main character, Traven, is sliding towards a mental breakdown and is on a quest in the interim to recreate the deaths of iconic media celebrities such as JFK in a way that "makes sense." References to Ballard's love for the surrealists are also hidden throughout this work, particularly Ernst and Dali. Traven is fairly typical of most of Ballard's characters in that he is basically an empty jacket walking around. I'm not sure if this is a deficiency on Ballard's part as a writer or if this was his way of allowing the reader to more easily step into the role of the main character. As his mental deterioration continues his name also changes within each section (Travis, Tallis, Talbot, etc.). His cold, clinical prose style shines brilliantly throughout this book. To wit:The Geometry of Her Face. In the perspectives of the plaza, the junctions of the underpass and the embankment, Talbot at last recognized a modulus that could be multiplied into the landscape of his consciousness. The descending triangle of the plaza was repeated in the facial geometry of the young woman. The diagram of her bones formed a key to his own postures and musculature, and to the scenario that had preoccupied him at the Institute. He began to prepare for departure. The pilot and the young woman now deferred to him. The fans of the helicopter turned in the dark air, casting elongated ciphers on the dying concrete.If it is still in print, the Re/Search Publications edition of this book is the one to get. It contains sidebar commentary written by Ballard twenty years later along with the addition of his celebrity cosmetic surgery stories.
—Matt
First I have to make clear that this is not the ReSearch annotated edition, but a mass market book from a British publisher Thiad Panther, and issued in 1970. Nevertheless this is a very stimulating book. J.G. Ballard is probably one of the great visionary writers regarding culture as it is now. I want to say he predict what will happen, but I think it was happening when he wrote his series of classic novels, but most of us were not aware of that 'Ballard' world that was and is clearly out there and here and everywhere. "The Atrocity Exhibition" is a series of very brief narratives that deal with the John F. Kennedy assassination as the ground zero of anxiety, dread and fear. For Americans at the moment, it's 9/11, but for my generation, the Kennedy assassination opened up an inner world of demons, secrets, and disappearing identities on a landscape one couldn't trust being there or being altered in some fashion. I think Ballard is commenting on the role we all play, but especially the powers-to-be, whoever they may be, in planting a world that is not of our choosing, but one that we just have to deal with. Which includes sexual desire when confronting death, shock, and machinery. Ido not know if his novel "Crash" came before or after "The Atrocity Exhibition, but the book does deal with the same issues of the erotic pull of car accidents and iconic personalities. Ballard gets extra points for including Ralph Nader among the celebrities that get maimed or killed by the automobile. Now mostly remembered for his political viewpoints as well as running for President, he at the time of this novel was famous for going after the automobile industry for not making cars more safer with respect to seat belts, etc. What we get here is a college effect of names, who at the time were still alive, being sacrificed to the automobile death culture as well as interesting commentary on the readers obsession with famous people and how they are placed in our world as entertainment, but also masking secret desires that are not fully exposed to the public. Ballard mixes the agony of death, of losing someone, and how culture eats up the anxiety of the 20th century (and now the 21st...) and spits out in a diseased form, which can be this piece of literature. A great book, whose sister is Burroughs' "Naked Lunch" and a cousin to classic Surrealist painters.
—Tosh
Undeniably disturbing but hauntingly memorable, The Atrocity Exhibition is difficult to rate, review or even describe. Utterly unconventional in every way, it is a diverse collection of largely unconnected snippets – some are narrative-based while others are fictitious scientific reports. Together they form a monstrous, disjointed portrait of violence, eroticism and celebrity. It's a satirical exploration of what types of grotesque, violent injuries are the most sexually arousing. (Although, such a description doesn't come close to capturing the full breadth of this book. As many other reviewers have also noted, it's honestly quite difficult to summarise.)Linked inextricably to the time period it was written in, The Atrocity Exhibition derives much of its unsettling imagery from the Second World War and the era of classic Hollywood stars. Many of J.G. Ballard's real life experiences are woven in there as well, for example the death of his wife. Many (most?) readers will find this book unappealing and offensive but it nonetheless contains some very insightful thematic ideas, particularly about the media, many of which still resonate today.The edition I read included extensive annotations written by Ballard which elucidate where the germ ideas for each snippet originated from. These annotations arguably make the intellectual and frequently bizarre text more accessible. They also successful expose the mind of the artist, exposing the process of inspiration and creation – I especially enjoyed reading about Ballard's fascination with space exploration. The Atrocity Exhibition is disgusting, shocking, weird, confusing, pornographic and rather pretentious. It's also endlessly thought-provoking. It's easy to see its continuing influence on contemporary literature, cinema and art.
—Laura
