The Kindness of Women - Softcover

Ballard, J. G.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 000654701X ISBN 13: 9780006547013

Publisher: Fourth Estate, 2014

Synopsis

‘This is autobiography taken to the highest reaches of fiction, another wonderful novel of scorching power, shot through with honesty and lyricism’ Observer

The Kindness of Women continues the story of Jim, the young boy whose experiences in Japanese-occupied Shanghai were described in Empire of the Sun. It follows his return to post-war England, setting his childhood in the context of a lifetime.

Jim tries, and fails, to find stability as a medical student at Cambridge, then as a trainee RAF pilot in Canada. Having finally settled into happy family life, his world is ripped apart by domestic tragedy. He plunges into the maelstrom of the 1960s, an instigator and subject of every aspect of cultural, social and sexual revolution.

We follow, in all this, the progress of a bruised mind as it tries to make sense of the upheaval around it. Turning conspicuously, as in Empire of the Sun, to the events of his own life, Ballard makes of experience fiction that is frankly startling and, at its most tender, powerfully moving.

This edition is part of a new commemorative series of Ballard’s works, featuring introductions from a number of his admirers (including Ali Smith, Iain Sinclair, Martin Amis and Ned Beauman) and brand-new cover designs from the artist Stanley Donwood.

About this title

Review:

‘Autobiography taken to the highest reaches of fiction, another wonderful novel of scorching power’ Observer

‘The most modern of writers; his art engages with the artefacts and obsessions of the second half of this century in a manner and with an intensity unmatched by any other writer I can think of’ William Boyd

‘Quite as extraordinary an achievement as “Empire of the Sun” ... A dazzling construction, a sequence of chapters almost every one of which is a tour de force in its own right’ Guardian

‘Compulsively readable ... unbearably moving’ Financial Times

‘Brilliant ... Ballard at his best’ Independent on Sunday

‘The terrifying thing about Ballard is his logic; is this science fiction or history written ahead of its time?’ Len Deighton

From the Back Cover:

THE SEQUEL TO HIS ACCLAIMED SEMI-AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL EMPIRE OF THE SUN.

“This is autobiography taken to the highest reaches of fiction, another wonderful novel of scorching power, shot with honesty and lyricism.”
OBSERVER

“A dazzling construction, a sequence of chapters almost every one of which is a 'tour de force' in its own right. He has put together the pieces of a fractured life here with honesty, humility and real brilliance.”
GUARDIAN

“Possesses all of the remarkable power and visceral impact of 'Empire of the Sun'“
DAILY TELEGRAPH

“A writer of extraordinarily distinctive vision and power. With 'The Kindness of Women' and its predecessor, Ballard has produced what is effectively the autobiography of a sensibility. For my money, that sensibility is the most unusual and stimulating to have emerged in English literature since Graham Greene.”
LITERARY REVIEW

“An impressive 'tour de force' … brilliant, almost hallucinatorily vivid.”
TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

“Ballard is the most modern of writers; his art engages with the artefacts and obsessions of the second half of this century in a manner and with an intensity unmatched by any other writer. The book is full of mesmerising writing, classic examples of the Ballard style, paragraphs and pages that disturb and enthral. The blend is very potent and highly intoxicating.”
WILLIAM BOYD

“A poignant, vivid novel, rich in symbolism and psychological insight.”
INDEPENDENT

“Brilliant … Ballard at his best.”
INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

About this edition

• Publisher: Fourth Estate
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 000654701X
• ISBN 13: 9780006547013
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352