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Concrete Island A Novel J G Ballard Books

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Concrete Island A Novel J G Ballard Books

The book is almost all metaphor, though even were it not Ballard tells a good enough story that it works on both levels, and to me you can pretty well ignore the loss of personhood brought on by modernity, or whatever label you wish to attach to his message. Normally if you throw away the message of a message book you haven't got much left, but this is my way of saying that it's a well-written story regardless.

As I mention in the title, the story is a bit far-fetched, but is only meant to be a metaphor and not a how-to primer for survival in the world of higway medians, so the reader can fairly soon get past this. Our protagonist is involved in a single-car crash that lands him in some kind of gulag median from which he cannot escape, and he is helpless in all his attempts to get attention from his fellow man. OK, so far, and we get the point. Finally some other characters enter the picture, and it goes from Robinson Crusoe to a vivid and more nuanced look at modern socialization. No spoilers here, but suffice it to say society doesn't end all that well.

I liked the book, but in all seriousness I would not read it if I were in a depressed or pessimistic frame of mind, as it might reinforce your negative world view a little too much. Others might find it hopeful, in a way,
but I did not. Still, I liked and recommend the book.


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Concrete Island A Novel J G Ballard Books Reviews

A psychological thriller that will keep you guessing
Great details, especially if you enjoy dystopian literature.
According to its jacket copy, CONCRETE ISLAND is a "wickedly modern ROBINSON CRUSOE." But a more apt comparison might be LORD OF THE FLIES, since CI explores the emotional darkness that can surface when an angry man is injured and marooned and exists outside the restraints of normal culture.

CI tells the story of Robert Maitland, a wealthy and successful architect and first-rate jerk, who loses control of his car, crashes through a traffic barrier, and ends up injured and stranded on a patch of derelict ground beneath the freeways of London. In a Robinsonade, a protagonist explores his new home, scavenges for food, develops a fever, devises shelter, and then discovers he is not alone. All this happens to Maitland, who survives through the odd kindness of his cohabitants. But as he survives, Maitland shows tendencies toward intimidation and manipulation and corrupts what was, before his arrival, a strange yet undeniable haven.

CI is an interesting but flawed book, IMO. In large part, this is due to Ballard's treatment of Maitland's dark side. While one character makes a connection between Maitland and capitalism, Maitland doesn't seem to represent anything larger than himself or provide meaningful insight on society or existence. Another flaw is the concrete island, which actually contains remnants of Edwardian streets, a movie theater, a cemetery, air raid shelters, and so on. But so what? Ballard fails to make much of these facts--although this enables the jacket copy to call this novel an allegory. Finally, Ballard wants to emphasize that the cold and ruthless Maitland is actually happiest when he is alone. But to create this final perfect zone for his protagonist, Ballard has to eliminate a character, which he achieves in a violently arbitrary fashion. Call it a dystopian deus ex machina.

Still, the second half of CONCRETE ISLAND is interesting and the novel is definitely good enough to finish.

Rounded up to four stars.
What do you get when you cross the premise of "Man vs. Wild" (a lost traveler struggling to survive unforgiving terrain and return to civilization) with "The Twilight Zone's" surreal existentialism and social commentary? You get "Concrete Island," a hypnotic tale of a man who finds himself in a very unlikely predicament.

Robert Maitland, a mid-thirties British architect who has it all (yet apparently has a deep-seated need to escape from it), gets more than he bargained for (or does he?) when his speeding car skids off a busy highway and strands him on a forgotten traffic island. Dazed, his misguided attempt to return to the road only manages to injure him to the point where he truly is marooned on the island, a stretch of land overgrown with high grasses and littered with the remains of abandoned cars and demolished structures. Largely out of sight of the fast-moving traffic, Maitland is unable to attract anyone's attention, despite numerous attempts. However, as he increasingly comes to realize, being "alone" doesn't necessarily mean there's nobody else around...

"Concrete Island" is a compelling short novel that works on multiple levels, as both a primal story of a man's attempt to survive and also as an exploration of existential ideas and commentary about human connections (or lack thereof) in our modern world. It raises questions about our expected roles in "civilized" society, the space between the "haves" and the "have-nots" (both metaphorically and literally), and our unspoken desires and fears.

So sit back and take a journey to the "Concrete Island." Stay as long as you like...
This novel was my first exposure to JG Ballard and i will definately hunt down and read some of his other books after reading this one. The plot is deceptively simple, a man driving home in the city crashes his car onto a forgotten traffic island overgrown with weeds. He is injured and can't find a way out and thus his nightmare begins. This book gets weird and has layers that are worth taking your time to dwell on. The idea of forgotten homeless people setting up makeshift homes and dwelling out of sight in forgotten dark corners of our modern cities really appealled to me. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read good brain stimulating fiction.
The book is almost all metaphor, though even were it not Ballard tells a good enough story that it works on both levels, and to me you can pretty well ignore the loss of personhood brought on by modernity, or whatever label you wish to attach to his message. Normally if you throw away the message of a message book you haven't got much left, but this is my way of saying that it's a well-written story regardless.

As I mention in the title, the story is a bit far-fetched, but is only meant to be a metaphor and not a how-to primer for survival in the world of higway medians, so the reader can fairly soon get past this. Our protagonist is involved in a single-car crash that lands him in some kind of gulag median from which he cannot escape, and he is helpless in all his attempts to get attention from his fellow man. OK, so far, and we get the point. Finally some other characters enter the picture, and it goes from Robinson Crusoe to a vivid and more nuanced look at modern socialization. No spoilers here, but suffice it to say society doesn't end all that well.

I liked the book, but in all seriousness I would not read it if I were in a depressed or pessimistic frame of mind, as it might reinforce your negative world view a little too much. Others might find it hopeful, in a way,
but I did not. Still, I liked and recommend the book.