THE UNLIMITED DREAM COMPANY - Softcover

Ballard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0586089950 ISBN 13: 9780586089958

Publisher: Fourth Estate, 2014

Synopsis

With a new introduction by John Gray and striking new cover from the artist Stanley Donwood, the author of ‘Cocaine Nights’ brings you the story of suburban London transformed into an exotic dreamworld.

When a light aircraft crashes into the Thames at Shepperton, the young pilot who struggles to the surface minutes later seems to have come back from the dead. Within hours everything in the dormitory suburb is surreally transformed. Vultures invade the rooftops, luxuriant tropical vegetation overruns the quiet avenues, and the local inhabitants are propelled by the young man’s urgent visions through ecstatic sexual celebrations towards an apocalyptic climax.

In this characteristically inventive novel Ballard displays to devastating effect the extraordinary imagination that established him as one of Britain’s most highly acclaimed writers.

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:

‘Blindingly original ... Moving, thrilling, exquisitely written’ Anthony Burgess

‘A remarkable piece of invention, a flight from the world of the familiar and the real into the exotic universe of dream and desire ... Dense and erotic and magical, a pleasure to read’ Malcolm Bradbury, New York Times Book Review

‘Extraordinary ... There is no doubt of the intensity and originality of the imagination ... Far beyond the scope of most novelists’ Spectator

‘A remarkable fantasist ... Ballard’s eloquence is as lush as the flowering vines he hangs from his multi-storey garages’ Observer

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

From the Publisher:

Reviews
"A remarkable piece of invention, a flight from the world of the familair and the real into the exotic universe of dream and desire... dense and erotic and magical, a pleasure to read." Malcolm Bradbury, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

"Extraordinary...there is no doubt of the intensity and originality of the imagination that conceived the scenes of Shepperton transformed into a paradise...far beyond the scope of most novelists." SPECTATOR

"One of the most startling and original novelists. Extremely witty, Ballard's most optimistic book contains some of his strongest, most vivid prose...exuberant fantasy." TIME OUT

"A remarkable fantastist...rich, seductive...Ballard's eloquence is as lush as the flowering vines he hangs from his multi-storey garages." OBSERVER

About this edition

• Publisher: Fourth Estate
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0586089950
• ISBN 13: 9780586089958
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 216