The Complete Short Stories by J G Ballard (2014)

The Complete Short Stories

Written by: J G Ballard

Read by: Ric Jerrom, William Gaminara, Sean Barrett, William Hope, Jeff Harding

Audible Studios - 2014

Audible / digital download

   

I've been reading J G Ballard novels for several decades now and for the most part thoroughly enjoyed them.  Drowned World (1962) and High Rise (1975) probably rank as my favorites and along with Concrete Island (1974) feel like places I actually visited rather than just read about. The Drought (1965) and The Crystal World (1966)  feel like variations on a theme and Running Wild (1988) always feels a little unBallardian, although enjoyable none the less.  Perhaps somewhat controversially Crash (1973) leaves me cold but not because of its themes but rather that it didn't live up to what I imagined it would be.  I probably should revisit it one day and judge it for what it is.  All the other novels are still pending and fortunately he remains one of those authors who still draws me. Constantly creating landscapes and stories I can relate to so I will invariably get round to them all in time.

   Odd then perhaps, that despite how I feel about his work, that I've spent so long just not getting round to reading his short stories.  Especially as they have always been highly recommended by friends.  The glib answers have always been either: Yes, I will one day,  or: So many books, so little time, but actually I think that subconsciously I've always been skeptical that the magic in a Ballard novel would still work in the shorter form or that the size and amount of ideas, would translate across less pages.

   I was wrong.

   J G Ballard's The Complete Short Stories was a monthly credit purchase on audible so an absolute fail on my part as I've been listening to so much great free stuff that my credits had built up to a stupid level and I thought I should probably get round to using some of them up.  I was looking at Ian McEwan, Iain Banks and Ballard, as audible readings would be a new way to enjoy revisiting some of my favorite novels. Then I saw this absolute whopper and knew I had no excuse for not investigating.  Containing 98 stories and totaling sixty three and a half hours of listening time for only one credit must count as the sale of the century.  God only knows what my backlog of credits will be after this little lot.

    Because the timeline to completion is quite long and old age can be a killer, I thought I would write my first review after the first 10 stories.  Just a small appetizer on which to hang an initial thought or two. Those first 10 stories in the collection are "Prima Belladonna", "Escapement", "The Concentration City", "Venus Smiles", "Manhole 69", "Track 12", "The Waiting Grounds", "Now: Zero", "The Sound-Sweep" and "Zone of Terror"

   My first thought was that the running order is not reflective of publication history but a bit of research suggests I was wrong.  This is based on the fact that he had me at the very first one.  Where as at least two of the following stories translate as much simpler revenge with technology tales and lack the subtle sophistication and kaleidoscope of wild ideas that world build a location like Vermilion Sands as featured in "Prima Belladonna"  And then again in "Venus Smiles".  If I could I would move there tomorrow, a fictional holiday resort that feels both strange and familiar, both new and worn out.  I've visited twice so far and have only another 7 stories set within the same location but I feel sure these will be the personal highlights of the collection for me.  That's not to say that other stories aren't sophisticated and wonderfully structured as well.  All 10 tales so far have been entertaining. Some have also been wonderful and some are of such unique vision that it was almost inevitable that they would one day make an adjective out of the authorial voice.

Ballardian - resembling or suggestive of the conditions described in the works of J. G. Ballard, esp dystopian modernity, bleak artificial landscapes, and the psychological effects of technological, social, or environmental developments

Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

   The collection is already highly recommended and I'm going to be dipping in and out of it through the coming months, confident that its only going to get even better as we move through the decades.  In a way I'm glad I put off reading Ballard's short stories until now.  It means all the pleasure is ahead.

Steve