20 April 2009

AUTHOR'S NOTE

"Readers who find themselves daunted by the unfamiliar narrative structure - far simpler than it seems at first - might try a different approach. Rather than start at the beginning of each chapter, as in a conventional novel, simply turn the pages until a paragraph catches your eye. If the ideas or images seem interesting, scan the nearby paragraphs for anything that resonates in an intriguing way. Fairly soon, I hope, the fog will clear, and the underlying narrative will reveal itself. In effect, you will be reading the book in the way it was written."

J.G. Ballard, 2001

So I dug out my copy of The Atrocity Exhibition (revised Flamingo edition, 2001). As a personal tribute to the man, I'm gonna have another go at it. Hoping that my hypersensitized nervous system, fortified on a steady diet of Twitter-stimuli, will be able to cope with the intellectual demands of non-linear narrative this time. Afterall, the above note by Ballard describes almost exactly the way I read Twitter updates.


2 comments:

  1. Yes, RIP JG Ballard.

    I tried to read The Atrocity Exhibition, found it pretty hard going, though I enjoyed the way you could just dip into the middle of it and it'd make as much sense as reading it front to back.

    Hope you're well Nick, been a while! What's going on with Bleepfiend? Real comfort in analogue.

    ReplyDelete
  2. aye aye Cap'n Jack!!!

    Bleepfiend will live again...when i get my shit together.

    Get yerself on Twitter!!!

    ReplyDelete