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The Kindness of Women [Paperback]

J. G. Ballard
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
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Book Description

12 Sep 1994

The fascinating, and largely autobiographical, sequel to J G Ballard’s prize-winning ‘Empire of the Sun’, that follows Jim to post-war England.

‘The Kindness of Women’ continues the story of the boy whose life in Japanese-occupied Shaghai was described so memorably in ‘Empire of the Sun’, it sets those traumatic events within the context of a lifetime as we follow the narrator, Jim, to England and suburban Shepperton after the war.

Jim tries and fails to find stability as a medical student at Cambridge and a trainee RAF pilot in Canada. Then, after settling happily into family life, his world is ripped apart by domestic tragedy. He plunges into the maelstrom of the 1960s, an instigator and subject of every aspect of cultural, social and sexual revolution. All this and much more, we see as the attempt of a bruised mind to make sense of the upheaval around it.


Frequently Bought Together

The Kindness of Women + Empire of the Sun (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) + Miracles of Life: Shanghai to Shepperton : an Autobiography
Price For All Three: �19.02

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Product details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Flamingo; New Ed edition (12 Sep 1994)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 000654701X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0006547013
  • Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 19.7 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 148,200 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

‘Quite as extraordinary an achievement as “Empire of the Sun” … A dazzling construction, a sequence of chapters almost every one a tour de force in its own right. He has put together the pieces of a fractured life here with honesty, humility and real brilliance’ Guardian

‘This is autobiography taken to the highest reaches of fiction, another wonderful novel of scorching power, shot through with honesty and lyricism’ Observer

‘Ballard is the most modern of writers; his art engages with the artefacts and obsessions of the second half of this century in a manner and with an intensity unmatched by any other writer. The book is full of mesmerising writing, classic examples of Ballard style, paragraphs and pages that disturb and enthral. The blend is very potent and highly intoxicating’ William Boyd

‘Brilliant…Ballard at his best’ Independent on Sunday

From the Back Cover

THE SEQUEL TO HIS ACCLAIMED SEMI-AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL EMPIRE OF THE SUN.

“This is autobiography taken to the highest reaches of fiction, another wonderful novel of scorching power, shot with honesty and lyricism.”
OBSERVER

“A dazzling construction, a sequence of chapters almost every one of which is a 'tour de force' in its own right. He has put together the pieces of a fractured life here with honesty, humility and real brilliance.”
GUARDIAN

“Possesses all of the remarkable power and visceral impact of 'Empire of the Sun'“
DAILY TELEGRAPH

“A writer of extraordinarily distinctive vision and power. With 'The Kindness of Women' and its predecessor, Ballard has produced what is effectively the autobiography of a sensibility. For my money, that sensibility is the most unusual and stimulating to have emerged in English literature since Graham Greene.”
LITERARY REVIEW

“An impressive 'tour de force' … brilliant, almost hallucinatorily vivid.”
TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

“Ballard is the most modern of writers; his art engages with the artefacts and obsessions of the second half of this century in a manner and with an intensity unmatched by any other writer. The book is full of mesmerising writing, classic examples of the Ballard style, paragraphs and pages that disturb and enthral. The blend is very potent and highly intoxicating.”
WILLIAM BOYD

“A poignant, vivid novel, rich in symbolism and psychological insight.”
INDEPENDENT

“Brilliant … Ballard at his best.”
INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY


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Customer Reviews

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Ballard at his Best 17 Nov 2007
Format:Paperback
I have read most of what Ballard has written; and I can't understand why this novel is so neglected, compared to The Atrocity Exhibition or Crash. To me this is the best thing he has written in the long form. Some of his short stories may be a bit better; but this is an absolute masterpiece, and it's probably the book I'd first give a friend to allow him or her to discover the Ballard World. It's a complex and astounding mix of facts and fiction, of visionary imagination and down-to-earth realism. The parts about the death of the protagonist's wife, the end of the war, the making of the movie Empire of the Sun in Shepperton should be in anthologies of English literature. His prose is dazzling, and this is probably the only long book by ballard where we don't meet his stereotypical characters only, but a wide variety of persons. All in all, a must-read for those who think Ballard is only Empire of the Sun and Crash.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest books of the last centuary 28 April 2002
Format:Paperback
This book fills in around "Empire of the Sun" and goes a long way to explaining the perversities of "The Atrocity Exhibition" and "Crash". Compulsive reading for almost anyone. The story of Ballards life (more or less). I can only say read it. Then read it again and give it to someone.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating 17 Oct 2012
Format:Paperback
Even if you are new to J.G. Ballard or if Ballard's other novels are not your cup of tea, this 'fictional auto-biography' loosely based on Ballard's life in the fifties and sixties is an engrossing read, Ballard's prose is at his best here, from a brilliant description of a home birth to visiting a friend in a psychiatric hospital, to losing his wife and the resultant grief, and much much more. Too good to miss and superior to his otherwise also interesting auto-biography. There are not many books quite like this.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars What women!
J.G. Was a revelation to me when I read Empire of The Sun and this is the sequel, just as good. A classic 'literary novel' of the first water. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Wordy
5.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as 'Empire' but what is?
The second of three autobiographical texts in the Ballard canon, 'Kindness' revisits the childhood experience covered by 'Empire of the Sun' (albeit from a different angle), before... Read more
Published 4 months ago by David Hallard.
5.0 out of 5 stars The Kindness of Women
This is a good book an interesting read and a great sequel to Empire of The Sun. I Would recommend this If you liked empire of the sun and would like to know what happened to wee... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Craig
2.0 out of 5 stars Fannies He Has Known - in detail
Started off well, describing his life as a boy living in wartime Shanghai, captured by the Japanese and kept in a camp. Read more
Published on 8 Mar 2011 by Florence
2.0 out of 5 stars Cheated!!
The reason that I have only given this book 2 stars, is that it tells the story, albeit in brief of The Empire of The Sun, which I feel is 4*. Read more
Published on 17 Jan 2008 by Lisa
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
This is a great book, full of good ideas as well as the usual Ballard themes (emasculated accountants, TV cameras, acts of violence, cars and planes). Read more
Published on 3 Dec 2003 by R. B. Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars An autobiographical tour-de-force
Ballard shows his mastery of narrative by giving us glimpses of the turning points in his life. Rather than opting for a straight chronological narration, he illustrates the... Read more
Published on 23 Nov 1999
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