Reviews

High-Rise by J.G. Ballard

baxspookwave's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No

4.0

joenicholl's review against another edition

3.0

Welcome to High-Rise, home of the manic Maniacs...The first 30 pages were solid, then, the High-Rise went crazy....not enough motive for the clans to act as such. It was interesting how the top, middle, and lower floors bonded as groups...Weird how the outside world was oblivious to what was going on inside...Action was credible...BUT...I ended up speed-reading the 2nd half of the book....I'll watch the movie one of these evenings....3 outta 5 stars...-I've also read Crash which is a classic...I'll read another J. G. Ballard soon....oh yes I will...

puddingemmy's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

puhnner's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

will_cherico's review against another edition

3.0

In a world of Snowpiercers, Paradites, and The Lifts, it’s easy to not look far past the now played-out gimmick of “capitalist critique using literal levels” but Ballard’s novel does it in a very impressively written way. It draws comparisons to The Lord of the Flies and Dante’s Inferno, a Hell that’s willingly occupied by those who are free to regress to their base instincts (or to regress into the creatures that the complex has conditioned them to be). It’s mean and nasty and it’s a very unnerving mirror held up to a society that really doesn’t like to think about the potential we all have for doing horrible things, and it makes for a very interesting novel, even if parts of it are quite repetitive.

kelanth's review against another edition

3.0

Appena finita la lettura di questo libro e durante le ultime pagine di lettura, volevo concretamente stroncarlo, poi ho cominciato a rifletterci e ho aspettato un poco a scriverne la recensione.

Decisamente questo è un libro da ponderare, far decantare per capirne tutte le sfumature e gli aspetti sociali e psicologici; è sicuramente una lettura difficile e pesante da affrontare a dispetto delle poche pagine da cui è composto.

Piccoli litigi e lamentele in un condominio ultramoderno, contenente duemila persone del tutto indipendente (al suo interno supermarket, piscine, zone ricreative) che si presta facilmente alla rappresentazione dell’intera società, si trasformano velocemente in atti di attacco e guerriglia verso gruppi-clan dei piani differenti all’avvenire dei primi guasti strutturali; presto il grattacielo si ritrova in una brutale società tribale dove di notte tutto è permesso: pulsioni sessuali perverse, lotte, pestaggi, devastazioni e saccheggi ai danni dei “piani nemici”.

Scritto negli anni settanta dove l’alienazione dell’individuo è argomento scottante, si trova un’analisi della mente contorta e perversa dell’uomo, che ambisce alla scalata sociale attraverso il manifestarsi delle sue peggiori pulsioni, fino ad arrivare ad una forma di vita primitiva.

Libro di sicuro impatto, ma a volte ripetitivo e lento, che non consente una lettura semplice perché troppo visionario ed eccessivo in alcune parti, ma non posso che ricredermi sulle mie impressioni di primo impatto; anche se non posso dare una valutazione del tutto positiva per via di quello detto sopra, non posso certo non sottolineare come la lettura debba essere affrontata in ogni caso, per lo meno per leggere qualcosa di molto particolare.

rgamblin's review against another edition

4.25

OOF

spotsandprincedad's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A true classic of near-future fiction, Ballard catapults from 1975 to give a shockingly accurate picture of a world growing more isolated and baser as our lives condense and compartmentalize. A pessimistic and mean-spirited look at human nature and tribalism. The only thing that limits this work is a sort of pervasive misogyny that says more about Ballard than the setting or characters. 

030ina's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

outb0undflight's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0