J. G. Ballard spoiler.
The main character and narrator (based upon Ballard himself) stumbles across a new community, usually as a result of some kind of car or plane accident, which is gated in some way. Ballard is initially nervous of the new community but through some act of rebellion against normal society is accepted and, as his confidence grows, he becomes a messianic figure -- in the process he also shags the main female character[s] whilst having homoerotic thoughts about the main male character[s]. After this consummation of his relationship with the community he becomes disillusioned (though, in truth he always felt an outsider even when being near worshipped) and plans an escape. The escape starts in high drama and ends with a feeling the whole thing was a dream/hallucination.
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Tue 11 Jun 2013, 11:49, 11 replies)

That's my favourite one!
Especially the chapter where "Ballard" engages in non-contact physical activity with the main male character that becomes a metaphor for an actual close physical encounter.
( The Vomiting Hitchhiker Mephistopheles is such a mouthful in Manhattan, Tue 11 Jun 2013, 12:23, closed)

I like how Ballards wounds signify the stigmata, marking him out as reborn.
Also, how the main female is based upon his wife and so he must lose her eventually.
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Tue 11 Jun 2013, 14:04, closed)

you know what?
Only a flid would think that a writer of Ballard's standard would be unable to separate his own life from the fiction he wrote.
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Tue 11 Jun 2013, 15:11, closed)

I can't tell whether you're a troll or somebody who hasn't read much of his work.

(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Tue 11 Jun 2013, 15:38, closed)

Wasn't the main character in "Crash" ...
... called "David Cronenberg"?
( The Vomiting Hitchhiker Mephistopheles is such a mouthful in Manhattan, Tue 11 Jun 2013, 15:41, closed)

Yes and the little boy in Empire Of The Sun is called Steven Spielberg.

(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Tue 11 Jun 2013, 15:59, closed)

I've read loads of Ballard
But I firmly take the stance that a good writer entirely separates their own life from their work, except in autobiographical instances like Empire of the Sun. Ballard didn't get turned on by car crashes, just because because he gave a character his name it doesn't mean he's writing about himself.

Not trolling either; Ballard's wife's death may have pushed his writing in a certain direction but it didn't become the subject. Ditto William Burroughs and Joan Vollmer.
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Tue 11 Jun 2013, 17:59, closed)

Of course the characters aren't literally him.
But I would argue a little against a statement like "Ballard didn't get turned on by car crashes" as he seems to suggest he did a little in his real autobiography (as opposed to the two fictional ones).
The way he talks about his wife and the reaction to her death in his works also shows up in many instances in female characters.
So, the reason I though you were trolling is that I never typed anything suggesting all his works were based literally on his life and it would be stupid to suggest that Ballard's fictional work doesn't contain a heck of a lot of characters and situations which are reminiscent of his no-fictional one. That being said I though you were suggesting either he was a poor writer who only wrote about himself or I was a naive reader seeing him in his characters -- making you either a troll or somebody who hasn't read much of his canon.

Edit: Ballard actually does literally seem to confuse his real life and characters with Empire Of The Sun -- where his real and fictional accounts mix (or, at least, my recollection of his autobiography is even he isn't sure which parts are real and which not at times).
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Tue 11 Jun 2013, 18:19, closed)

I think we got off on the wrong foot.
Re. Ballard, I prefer his short fiction to his novels, and his experimental work from the seventies rather than his realist phase from the 80s until his death, my favourite of his novels being The Atrocity Exhibition and short story wise, probably Memories of the Space Age.

Where I think he lost momentum was around the turn of the century; while Cocaine Nights and Super Cannes are competent enough novels, he'd become a bit formulaic.

It doesn't detract from his ability as a writer or even his ability to deal thematically with his subjects
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Tue 11 Jun 2013, 18:52, closed)

I think we did get off on the wrong foot then.
I did forget that in the elements trilogy doesn't have any of his typical tropes either.
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Tue 11 Jun 2013, 19:59, closed)

"I sensed a new kind of awakening ...
... in this young [insert profession here]".

It's been suggested to me that Robert Kilroy-Silk would make an excellent David Cruise in an adaptation of "Kingdom Come".
( The Vomiting Hitchhiker Mephistopheles is such a mouthful in Manhattan, Tue 11 Jun 2013, 15:39, closed)