The Crystal World Audiobook By J. G. Ballard cover art

The Crystal World

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The Crystal World

By: J. G. Ballard
Narrated by: Sean Barrett
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From J.G. Ballard, author of Crash and Cocaine Nights comes his extraordinary vision of an African forest that turns all in its path to crystal.

Through a 'leaking' of time, the West African jungle starts to crystallize. Trees are metamorphosed into enormous jewels. Crocodiles encased in second glittering skins lurch down the river. Pythons with huge blind gemstone eyes rear in heraldic poses.

Fearing this transformation as a herald of the apocalypse, most flee the area in terror, afraid to face a catastrophe they cannot understand. But some, dazzled and strangely entranced, remain to drift through this dreamworld forest. Travelling through this gilded land, a doctor tries to resist its strange allure in pursuit of his ex-mistress, while a tribe of lepers search for Paradise…

In this tour de force of the imagination, Ballard transports the listener into one of his most unforgettable landscapes.

©1966 J. G. Ballard (P)2014 Audible Studios Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Medical Science Fiction
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Reminds me of several other of Ballard's environmental disaster/transformation novels with a bit of Conrad's Heart of Darkness overlayed for good measure.

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The book still retains the lyrical quality of surrender to inevitable doom that I vaguely remembered. I had forgotten most of the personal entanglements of the characters however. Not for every reader.

reread after 50 years

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I feel I must announce my bias upfront: I am a fan of both Ballard as a writer, and Barrett as a narrator. Even with that bias, I truly felt that this particular audiobook was a 'perfect marriage' - a five-star narration that enhances a vivid, evocative text. I would definitely recommend this audiobook as an introduction to early Ballard.

A lot of readers - even Ballard fans - don't like this book: some common criticisms are that the characters are unbearable and their motivations ambiguous, the descriptions of landscapes interminable, the symbolism heavy-handed and the ending, in particular, irreconcilable. I would never dare suggest Ballard as 'light-reading', but I nevertheless think that 'The Crystal World' is one of his books that can be read 'simply', as a pure narrative (without interposed analysis). If you are going to approach it in that way, perhaps it is helpful to have in mind Colin Greenland's thesis that it's all about acceptance and acclimatization: seen in this light, the characters' choices may be more relatable.

I do find it interesting that one of the common complaints about 'The Crystal World' is the focus on describing the environment in which the characters find themselves. In this regard, 'The Crystal World' reminds me somewhat of Lem's 'Solaris' - the awesome beauty is almost a distraction from the destructive (and/or transformational) nature of the environment. Jason Heller's take on Ballard as "[u]nimaginable horror meted out in the most disciplined packages" is the one that resonates the most with me. I don't think that there is an extraneous word in 'The Crystal World', and Barrett's subtle narration is the perfect complement.

Perfect narration for Ballard's descriptive prose

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I am certain that I will be reading and rereading this novel for the rest of my days by the light of the prismatic sun evermore in receipt of its crystallized wisdom.

Breathe taking

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So my dad bought me a series of books in the sci-fi genre, but this series is the Nebula award winners and other enjoyable award winning liturature from th genre. This book was so much fun that I just heard the "cereal narrator" talking you through the story. The characters are fun and engaging, you can almost feel your finger prike on a crystal leaf. Definitely worth a listen. Just be patient and youll get there, because this book sounds like its out of the 1920s. Nostalgia all the way.

A recomendation from my dad

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I found this realistic science fiction novel extremely interesting on the second read. JJ Ballard conveys realistic science fiction. I found the narration much better than reading the novel itself, it flowed more than just reading a book.

Crystal World

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Very well done fantasy/science fiction. Very good use of words and told well by the reader.

The jeweled forest

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Any additional comments?

I've been reading for years about how great J.G. Ballard is, but I just don't get it. Seems like basically pulp, and pulp in which not much happens. Read The Drowned World, but that wasn't much better.

Couldn't finish

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