Concrete Island

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A "concrete island" is also a term used to describe a microclimate effect on some large cities, such as Tokyo.

Concrete Island
Cover of first edition (hardcover)
Author	J. G. Ballard
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre(s)	English fiction novel
Publisher	Jonathan Cape
Publication date	1974
Media type	Print (Hardcover & Paperback)
Pages	176 pp
ISBN	ISBN 0-224-00970-2

Concrete Island is a 1974 English fiction novel by J. G. Ballard.

[edit] Plot introduction

A twisted adaptation of Robinson Crusoe, the story's protagonist, Robert Maitland, a wealthy architect, finds himself stranded in a manmade 'island' (a section of fenced-off wasteland in the middle of a motorway intersection), forced to survive on only what is in his crashed Jaguar and what he is able to find. As his condition degrades, it soon becomes difficult to determine whether Maitland is finding sanity or watching his mind fall apart as he finds companions on the island and eventually decides to remain there and forsake his former life. As an allegory of how the technological advancements of society ultimately serve to alienate, rather than unite, us, this short novel provides a quick introduction to one of the recurring themes in Ballard's work.

[edit] Adaptations/references in other media

The novel was adapted as a multimedia play by German artists Stefan Kunzmann and Isabelle Jenniches in 2002.

One of the chapter titles from the novel, "Burning Car", provided the inspiration for a 1980 single by British electronic new wave musician John Foxx.

The lyrics to Jawbox's song "Motorist" from the album For Your Own Special Sweetheart were inspired by the novel.

[edit] External links

• The Terminal Collection: JG Ballard First Editions

v • d • e Works by J. G. Ballard Novels: The Wind From Nowhere (1961) • The Drowned World (1962) • The Burning World (1964) • The Crystal World (1966) • The Atrocity Exhibition (1969) • Crash (1973) • Concrete Island (1974) • High Rise (1975) • The Unlimited Dream Company (1979) • Hello America (1981) • Empire of the Sun (1984) • The Day of Creation (1987) • Running Wild (1988) • The Kindness of Women (1991) • Rushing to Paradise (1994) • Cocaine Nights (1996) • Super-Cannes (2000) • Millennium People (2003) • Kingdom Come (2006) Short stories: "The Voices of Time" (1960) • "The Recognition" (1967) • "Why I Want to Fuck Ronald Reagan" (1968) Short story collections: The Voices of Time and Other Stories (1962) • Billennium (1962) • Passport to Eternity (1963) • The Four-Dimensional Nightmare (1963) • The Terminal Beach (1964) • The Impossible Man (1966) • The Venus Hunters (1967) • The Overloaded Man (1967) • The Disaster Area (1967) • The Day of Forever (1967) • Vermilion Sands (1971) • Chronopolis and Other Stories (1971) • Low-Flying Aircraft and Other Stories (1976) • The Best of J. G. Ballard (1977) • The Best Short Stories of J. G. Ballard (1978) • Myths of the Near Future (1982) • The Voices of Time (1985) • Memories of the Space Age (1988) • War Fever (1990) • The Complete Short Stories of J. G. Ballard (2001) Essays & reviews A User's Guide to the Millennium (1996) • Miracles of Life (2008)