Review from a Transgressive Fiction Fan
Trapped on a motorway interchange island. Written in 1973 today’s reader may be forgiven for thinking ‘ah but we have mobile phones today, this would never happen’. True but not the point of the book so don’t be put off by a lack of 21st Century mobile communication technology. Just imagine you can’t get a signal! Ballard is addressing a particular symptom of 1st world life in this easy to access book; social isolation. Leaving the reader finally with a fleeting glimpse of some kind of societal form of Stockholm Syndrome. Resigned acceptance and embracement or is it just an acknowledgment that we all need to get off the treadmill sometimes? You decide. Well worth a read, it won’t take long as Ballard’s writing is tight and concise. There is a lot to pick out of this book so enjoy…
“Insightful” Review from a Mainstream Reader
I don’t know if I’ve ever read a book with a more unlikable protagonist- he drove me crazy because he was too quick to give up on each attempt at getting off the island. Like, come on man, stop being such a piece of shit. Finished this book in a day just so that I could waste as little time as possible reading it.