Cart
Free Shipping in Australia
Proud to be B-Corp

Kingdom Come J. G. Ballard

Kingdom Come By J. G. Ballard

Kingdom Come by J. G. Ballard


$19.99
Condition - Like New
Only 1 left

Summary

Richard's father was fatally wounded at the Metro-Centre, a shopping mall, when a deranged mental patient opened fire on a crowd of shoppers. When the main suspect is released without charge, thanks to the dubious testimony of self-styled pillars of the community, Richard suspects that there is more to his father's death than what meets the eye.

Kingdom Come Summary

Kingdom Come by J. G. Ballard

This is a new masterpiece of fiction from J. G. Ballard which asks, could Consumerism turn into Facism? Richard Pearson, unemployed advertising executive and life-long rebel, is driving out to Brooklands, a motorway town on the M25. A few weeks earlier his father was fatally wounded at the Metro-Centre, a vast shopping mall in the centre of this apparently peaceful town, when a deranged mental patient opened fire on a crowd of shoppers. When the main suspect is released without charge thanks to the dubious testimony of self-styled pillars of the community - including Julia Goodwin, the doctor who treated his father on his deathbed - Richard suspects that there is more to his father's death than meets the eye, a more sinister element lurking behind the pristine facades of the labyrinthine mall. Determined to unravel the mystery, Richard soon realises that the Metro-Centre, with its round-the-clock cable channel and sports clubs, lies at the very heart of his father's death. Consumerism rules the lives of everyone in the motorway towns and feeds the cravings of this bored community with its desperate need for something new, whatever the cost. Riots frequently terrorise the streets, immigrant communities are set upon by roving bands of hooligans and sports events mushroom into jingoistic political rallies. Gradually, Richard finds himself drawn into this world, caught up in the workings of the mall, exposed to the insides of the consumer dream, and starts upon dismantling this wayward vision his advertising career helped to found! In this gripping, dystopian tour de force, J.G. Ballard holds up a mirror to middle England, reflecting an unsettling image of suburbia and revealing the darker forces at work beneath the gloss of consumerism and flag-waving patriotism.

Kingdom Come Reviews

'"Kingdom Come" is important, germaine, timely and creepy, a tidal wrack of ideas washed up on the artificial beach of our resort culture.' Will Self '"Kingom Come" is a worthy addition to an extraordinary body of work. It is impossible to read one of JG Ballard's books and not to marvel at his style and ability to capture the times in which we live. His writing has been a source of excitement and inspiration to me since I was reading library books under the covers by the light of a battery torch.' Louise Welsh Praise for 'Millennium People': 'Much of the fun of "Millennium People" -- and it is one of the most amusing novels I've read in a long time -- comes from watching as the world finally catches up with Ballard and Ballard, wryly, reacts.' Guardian 'Terrifying and strangely haunting!A riveting work from a writer of rare imaginative largesse, a bearer of bad tidings, unforgettably told.' Daily Telegraph Praise for 'The Complete Short Stories': 'Compelling ! one of the most haunting, cogent and individual imaginations in contemporary literature.' William Boyd, Mail on Sunday

About J. G. Ballard

J. G. Ballard was born in 1930 in Shanghai, where his father was a businessman. After internment in a civilian prison camp, he and his family returned to England in 1946. His 1984 bestseller 'Empire of the Sun' won the Guardian Fiction Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. It was later filmed by Steven Spielberg. His most recent novel was 'Millennium People', published in 2003.

Additional information

GOR008721599
9780007232468
0007232462
Kingdom Come by J. G. Ballard
Used - Like New
Hardback
HarperCollins Publishers
2006-09-04
304
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
The book has been read, but looks new. The book cover has no visible wear, and the dust jacket is included if applicable. No missing or damaged pages, no tears, possible very minimal creasing, no underlining or highlighting of text, and no writing in the margins

Customer Reviews - Kingdom Come