| by comrade commissar | Thomas | @ Friday, March 11, 2005, 5:14:00 PM | permalink |
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I mentioned some time ago that I tried really hard to make a good literary decision unguided by any outside recommendation. 12 days later, with the benefit of hindsight, I realised that I've semi-failed in that goal. The book I bought at Kino that day was J. G. Ballard's "Crash". I guess I should have had a premonition when I noted that the main reason that I had the paperback in my hands & standing in the long queue to pay was due to the eye-catching cover design of a bright red crashed car. * Warning! Clueless Reader Alert! * I'm not saying that the novel is utterly horrid. Its highly acclaimed apparently, (not sure why, but at least after finishing I can brag to my peers about how elite I am to read a classic) the writing's good & the book offers fresh, interesting ideas. (eg, "the transformation of human psychology by modern technology") Yea, so far the reading experience offered by Crash has been satisfactory. I guess the real reason why I'm unhappy with my choice is mainly personal: All the books in Kino & I had the dumb luck to pick out the book often cited by literary critics as a good example of being a predecessor of Chuck Palahniuk's "Fight Club". (Hence the reason why Chuck Palahniuk is bestowed the description of being "Ballardesque") Similarities: Both books have plenty of screwed up characters, with bizarre habits, dysfunctional lifestyles & crackpot philosophies. In fact, Crash is a 1960s-1960s British version of Fight Club, but less on up-close-&-physical-violence, severe overdosage on the gratuitous sex. Give. Me. A. Reality. Break. At the moment, the only reason I'm carrying on is because I'm curious about the ending. (Yes, so it killed the cat.) --- On a brighter note, Jeiel heard |
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