It's been three weeks since I blogged about british writer J.G. Ballard and The Atrocity Exhibition, one of his most daring books. Well today I woke up and what did my RSS-reader tell me? He passed away on Sunday, aged 78.
Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2006, his latest book was to be a collection of dialogues with his oncologist. "Conversations" was due to be published in September by HarperCollins, according to the BBC this has been cancelled following the news of his death.Maybe I heard the banshee cry, maybe it's pure coincidence that I blogged about him so shortly before his departure. If reality was anyhing like his sci-fi-shorts, it would probably be the former.
J.G. Ballard, The Atrocity Exhibition
Heavily influenced by Cut-Up-writers like William Burroughs, it's a mesmerizing blend of pop-cultural artefacts, memes and tropes. "Why I want to fuck Ronald Reagan", "The University of Death", "You: Coma: Marylin Monroe"