902. Cocaine Nights

Cocaine Nights
J.G. Ballard
1996
Around 340 pages

J.G. Ballard is one of the most overrepresented novelists on this List. If we had to trim the fat, I would definitely remove this one. I think we get the picture with Crash, Empire of the Sun, High Rise, and The Atrocity Exhibition. Which is a shame, because you would hope an author would just keep getting better and better.

Charles Prentice travels to Estrella de Mar in order to rescue his jailed brother, Frank, who has been arrested for an arson attack that killed five people. Upon arriving, Charles discovers his brother has confessed to everything, and has no interest in trying to escape his plea. In a matter of days, Charles becomes immersed in the strange world of Estrella de Mar, which is a strange, distinctly Ballardian place.

Ballard portrays such ugly worlds, that I never want to stay in his novels very long. I felt like this novel was frenetic and directionless, which I guess is what doing cocaine feels like. I wouldn't know, nobody has ever offered me any. Ahem. Anyway, like other Ballard novels, this was pulsing with anger and cynicism, and I found the reading experience draining. 

Only one more Ballard to go!

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Ballard never remarried after the death of his first wife.

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