Reviews with content warning for Gore - High-Rise

Reviews tagging 'Gore'

High-Rise by J.G. Ballard

8 reviews

lapinpuff's review against another edition

slow-paced

2.0

Set in a semi-surrealist Babel of middle-class apartment living, High-Rise follows three narrators in the eye of an animalistic storm composed of acts of violence in every conceivable direction. This is a strikingly promising, razor-sharp premise.

It is almost impressive, then, that Ballard manages to make this story flop harder than the bodies tossed from his titular building. I must ask--was this always meant to be a full-length novel? It feels like, outside of the initial idea, very little authorial thought scaffolds this work. I read an interview which mentioned the original plan for High-Rise: it was going to be written in the style of (iirc) a social worker's report. The declarative, apathetic style continues into the final piece. Of course it cannot be said with certainty, but I do wonder if this would have better served the story...or at least justify the flatness of it all...

The initial descent of the building's inhabitants is completely unprompted, unexplained, and, somehow, uninteresting. It just drones on and on. And on. I truly hoped it would get better. It didn't. If I had to live in this novel's scraping narrative, I'd probably be gnawing on a roasted dog's leg too.

These characters are so laughably boring, serving only as vessels for comically verbose dialogue (indistinguisable between speakers), unjustifiable actions written for shock-value (sure, man, living in an apartment building for six months leads to an orgy of thousands of residents immediately very enthusiastic about cannibalism and/or reciprocal incest), and what I can only imagine to be Ballard's cuckolding fetish. It struck me as a little squirm-worthy how his female characters--who here I'd argue have far more narrative potential than his rotation of male narrators--only seem to exist to be fucked in flat displays of sadomasochism. I thought it seemed balanced enough in Crash, but here it's kind of inexcusable to me.

And yet, despite my disappointment, the strength of Mr Ballard's unique and oft-poetic prose persists. The first quarter of the novel was an enjoyable, interesting read--before it sunk in that the rest of the story would simply echo itself, of course. I'm moreso bothered by what I percieve as a great deal of wasted potential here. Two concrete stars...a shame!!

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hollywatson's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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hannahbisbis's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Well, that was horrifying — except for the claim that matriarchy is inevitable, especially when dealing with varying levels of wealthy, infantile “genius special boys” who want to have indistinguishable sex mommies and to go wild. Yet, it was honestly so accurate in talking about the violence inherent in and underneath “professionalism” and “civilized” culture as well as society’s gross obsession with technology, which can be a way to recreate and to perpetuate violence.

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alexhaydon's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Not sure what I was expecting going into this one but it was extremely transportive and I'm happy to have read it in a couple of sittings. We observe life in a High Rise through 3 different male perspectives. Each narrator is of a different class and corresponding level within the High Rise. The lower class/level narrator is Wilder, Middle Class Laing and the Upper Class Royal (who also is the architect of our tower). I enjoyed how suggestive their names were and their perspectives were all rather unique, though became very similar towards the end of the novel as the High Rise's decline grew more stark. None of these characters are likeable, though I think Laing's viewpoint was the most palatable? I'm being very generous using that word because even his view is horrifying, but what I mean is that he makes some astute observations that perhaps those in the polar ends of the class system are unable to see so markedly...
Ballard does a great job of making the High Rise seem both labyrinthine and vast, while also suffocating and claustrophobic. The wonders of the Tower's facilities quickly descend into settings for gore and great misfortune. The tension Ballard builds is so tangible and visceral I was feeling the need to look over my own shoulder! A lot of reviews rightly draw comparison between High Rise and Lord of The Flies, and it definitely resembles the old classic, but dare I say its modern tower block stage made its subconscious commentary on the regression of civilisation and society much more poignant. At the end of my copy there is a brief interview with Ballard and he explains how due to his previous life experiences, he is very much aware that our everyday lives and human comforts can be 'dismantled overnight'.
My only qualms with this novel were its female characters...I would have enjoyed a female perspective, rather than seeing them largely as victims and servants. Perhaps this is a commentary in its own way but it did get tedious. Lastly, it got a bit repetitive at times, towards the halfway and 2/3 mark it seemed to need to find its footing again but this didn't grate on me too much.
Overall I'm excited to hear of other people's experience with this novel and look forward to reading more Ballard...just hopefully with a more diverse cast list.

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