Extreme Metaphors

After a morning's writing J.G. Ballard sometimes found himself with company. Latterly, friends and interviewers came to his Shepperton home, the same home from which Ballard had observed the rising suburban tide, the advancing world he captured, analysed and second-guessed so accurately in his fiction. Such acuity was not exclusive to his novels, though, as this book reminds us: Ballard had a restive, vigilant intelligence that overflowed naturally into conversation, often sharpening itself in dialogue. He entertained his many admirers and interviewers with insights into the world as he saw it, and speculated, often correctly, about its future. As a result of these conversations he acquired a somewhat oracular reputation. That reputation continues to grow. Even as the world advances, Ballard is still being proved correct.

Now, for the first time, EXTREME METAPHORS collects the finest interviews of his career. Together they offer a validation of those visionary and predictive instincts; proof of a remarkable, worldly sympathy. They are a tribute to a celebrated thinker and great interviewee, for lovers of Ballard but also for lovers of this world.