The Illuminated Man: An Unconventional Portrait of JG Ballard
JG Ballard, the renowned writer who passed away in 2009, presents a fascinating subject for biographers, yet he consistently resisted attempts to document his life story. His early experiences, including a childhood in prewar Shanghai, internment in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp, and the tragic death of his wife Mary at age 34, profoundly shaped his distinctive literary voice. These vivid, often shocking images recurred throughout his fiction, creating a body of work that defies easy categorization.
A Tantalising Subject for Biography
Ballard's own memoir, Miracles of Life, published late in his life, offered a carefully curated account that revealed little new information. An unauthorized biography by John Baxter followed after his death, though it faced criticism from Ballard's family for inaccuracies. In The Illuminated Man, authors Christopher Priest and Nina Allan aim to solidify Ballard's place in the literary canon, a challenging task given his association with the science fiction genre, which was often undervalued during his career.
Ballard's Unique Literary Vision
Unlike many science fiction writers of his era who focused on outer space, Ballard explored what he termed inner space, delving into the subconscious mind. This focus aligns with his initial career aspiration to become a psychoanalyst. Martin Amis once noted that Ballard's talent was mysterious and distempered, impossible to classify, with novels that could not be imagined by anyone else. Ballard's characters are typically obsessives drawn to extreme environments, and recurring motifs like drained swimming pools and abandoned structures define his work.
The term Ballardian has entered common parlance, describing moments of surreal or dystopian reality, such as the death of Princess Diana or the 2005 Ikea riot in Tottenham. To his admirers, Ballard serves as a prophet, depicting a world of environmental collapse and meaningless violence.
Mainstream Recognition and Controversial Works
Ballard neared mainstream acceptance when his semi-autobiographical novel Empire of the Sun was shortlisted for the 1984 Booker Prize, though it lost to Anita Brookner's Hotel du Lac. His earlier works, however, often courted controversy. The Atrocity Exhibition baffled many with its lack of narrative cohesion, while Crash provoked extreme reactions for its exploration of sex and violence. Critics ranged from praising his surreal imagination to condemning his work as depraved, yet Ballard embraced such criticism as a mark of artistic success.
The Paradox of Ballard's Personal Life
Ironically, the creator of such unsettling fiction lived a quiet, suburban life in Shepperton, Surrey. A family man uninterested in material possessions, Ballard wrote his novels in longhand, eschewed computers, and never used email. His editor recalled how Ballard, upon receiving payment for film rights to Empire of the Sun, celebrated by buying only a tin of salmon from the local supermarket.
Priest's Approach and Terminal Illness
Christopher Priest, a writer of speculative fiction, was well-suited to assess Ballard's oeuvre, offering insights such as the idea that Empire of the Sun may have drained Ballard's creative intensity. Tragically, six months into the biography, Priest was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He managed to write 65,000 words before his death, with the project completed by his partner, later wife, Nina Allan.
Allan's Contribution and Narrative Structure
Allan's portion of the biography includes interviews presented as factual, though Ballard himself cautioned against relying on friends' recollections. The book has gaps, such as minimal mention of the short story The Secret Autobiography of JGB and omission of Why I Want to Fuck Ronald Reagan. Woven into the narrative is an account of Priest's final illness, adding a poignant, personal layer that, while moving, diverges from a traditional biography.
A Brave and Moving Literary Work
This multilayered approach creates challenges for readers in distinguishing authorship, but it results in a brave and emotionally resonant book. The Illuminated Man is an original and compelling read, though those seeking a conventional biography of JG Ballard may need to look elsewhere. Published by Bloomsbury, this work offers a unique perspective on one of the most intriguing writers of the postwar period.
