Book review time!

Concrete Island
J.G. Ballard
Barnes & Noble link

I promised a review of this book and y'all shall get it!



The story is about architect Robert Maitland who gets himself in quite a pickle: he gets into a car accident that results in him becoming stranded on some kind of highway island. Over time, it becomes appallingly obvious that no one is going to help the guy, mistaking his tattered clothes and unsteady gestures for everything but than of a car-crash victim. Maitland's survival becomes a battle of wits, coupled with a stubborn streak to remain alive despite his severe injuries.

Concrete Island is reminiscent of its predecessor Crash, which had similar themes of vehicular accidents and obsessions, a wife named Catherine, and even an amorous doctor character. Okay, the last two things are arbitrary, but the car imagery sounded the alarms more.

The only major problem I had with the book (storytelling-wise) was the ending. As I glance at the Wikipedia entry on the story, I can understand why. But even with all the build-up to the end, it felt me feeling a little disappointed. Maybe it could've been longer, like about several more chapters to cover a few more things.

The characters were few but surprisingly engaging. Even with all his wrongs spelled out, one couldn't help but pity poor Maitland. His survival instincts are a true testament to the ones someone faces in such a crisis, and may haunt those who feel that they would never think that way and yet... it is possible in all of us.

What got to me the most and will likely remain with me is the feeling of isolation that Maitland felt. By the fifth chapter, I began to panic for him. What if something like that could happen to me? The possibility of never being saved, oblivious people driving past your wreck and not giving two damns about your well-being (especially if you are showing that yes, something bad went down)... if that doesn't strike fear into your heart, then you're a stronger soul than I.

Along that same vein, the fact that Ballard was able to do this in his writing (in even a novella) is evidence of his skill as a writer. While his descriptions are not exemplary (if you want to compare his work to that of a literary fiction novelist's), he does the settings and characters justice.

Personally, I had a devil of a time picturing this "concrete island", that was until I saw this cover (the first American edition, below the first British edition cover) that I was like "well yeah, okay. Now I get it."

I enjoyed this more than Crash (the content in the latter was too much to take at points). Ballard is defintely an author to reckon with, going to deep and dark levels of humanity in his work (something that I do admire in any writer).

Concrete Island comes highly recommended. And it is certain that Ballard will now become a constant presence in my reading, as I hope to grab this when I'm in England... because America is utter fail and doesn't have it in print anymore.