Baxter (Anglia Ruskin U., UK) presents eight essays of contemporary literary criticism of the fiction of British writer J. G. Ballard. Topics include the implications of time, space, and
psychology in Ballard's early fiction; the influence of Surrealism on The Atrocity Exhibition; Crash as a site of Gothic horror and humor; Ballard's cinematic imagination and the film
adaptations of The Atrocity Exhibition, Crash, and Empire of the Sun; Ballard's literary renderings of his own life; the shifting significance of the city of London across Ballard's career;
Cocaine Nights and Super-Cannes as nightmare utopias and Ballard's response to the shifting landscapes of postwar Europe; and representations of violence, sacrifice, and community in Ballard's
postmillennial fictions. Also included are an interview with Ballard and a guide to further readings. Annotation 穢2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
