J G Ballard - RIP
- Thread starter hmg
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Finished it earlier. It's pretty good, but he must have used the word 'geometry' at least 50 times.
I think it's the book of his that most resembles the surrealist paintings he loved. There are big chunks which read like the characters have been dropped into a de Chirico or Tanguy and the landscape and shadows seem to have more presence than they do. Reminded me of something I read about de Sade's Sodom and it being a mathematical model of what can be done with a set number of human bodies but taken further as objects and buildings and technology are thrown into the mix.
I dunno how much it adds up to, mind you. It feels like he just stresses over and over that there must be some logic or equation that resolves these things, but he never gets close to it. It's just this endless stream of him comparing the corners of buildings and bits of cars to thighs and genitals and collar bones.
sus
Moderator
Exploring 'The Garden of Time' – the story behind this year's Met Gala theme
Based on a short story of the same name by J.G. Ballard, the dress code will likely be interpreted in terms of nature and decay
www.harpersbazaar.com
Garden of Time is the 2024 Met Gala theme
sus
Moderator
Ballard's short stories explore the same dystopian modernity as his longer fictions, and The Garden of Time is no exception. The story is about the good-looking, sophisticated Count Axel and his wife, who live in a beautiful villa full of rare books, fine paintings, busts and vases. They live a decadent life on their beautiful estate, which includes an exquisite pool and garden. But outside the walls, the landscape is empty as far as the eye can see – until an unruly rabble appears in the distance. Each time Count Axel cuts a flower from his garden, however, time spools back, and the brutish mass recedes behind the hills.
But a long time has passed since plants last bloomed, and the Count is reduced to cutting the very last of his flowers to hold back the mob. When their garden is bare, he and his wife carefully put away their books, their music and all the treasures of their civilised life, preparing for it to come to an abrupt end.
The vivid, thought-provoking short story is often seen to act as a metaphor for the evolution of human history and the endless cycle of creation and destruction — a theme clearly mirrored in The Met's Sleeping Beauties exhibition
But a long time has passed since plants last bloomed, and the Count is reduced to cutting the very last of his flowers to hold back the mob. When their garden is bare, he and his wife carefully put away their books, their music and all the treasures of their civilised life, preparing for it to come to an abrupt end.
The vivid, thought-provoking short story is often seen to act as a metaphor for the evolution of human history and the endless cycle of creation and destruction — a theme clearly mirrored in The Met's Sleeping Beauties exhibition