Book Review: The Atrocity Exhibition by J.G. Ballard

The Atrocity Exhibition, written by J.G. Ballard, was first published in the United Kingdom in 1970 by the Jonathan Cape publishing company. It first appeared in the United States under a different title, Love and Napalm: Export U.S.A., thanks to publishing company Grove Press. The edition read for this review is a reprinted edition from 1990, by RE/Search. It is a large paperback with 127 pages and includes annotations by the author, photographs, and graphic illustrations.

The novel has been met with negative criticisms and much controversy. It has been the subject of an obscenity trial in Britain, and even in the United States, J.G. Ballard’s use of the John F. Kennedy assassination as a sexualized event has left many readers offended by its content. In the preface, William S. Burroughs summarizes the book as a “…magnification of image to the point where it becomes unrecognizable…” and that it is “a profound and disquieting book.” Burroughs further clarifies the intent of the book as an exploration of “the nonsexual roots of sexuality” and that Ballard succeeds at this with “surgical precision.”

The themes of the novel are as varied as the individual tales within the novel. It examines sexuality in raw psychological terms, purely physical images, and the many other forms it takes. Ballard also uses the novel format to explore the effects of mass media on an individual’s mind. Huge, blown-up images of Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor appear in passages of the novel as posters and billboards at the corner of every street. The title itself plays an important role as well in the themes presented. Many pages are filled with disgusting images of atrocities: car crash victims, radiation burns, and famous suicides. Ballard uses these themes almost as an experiment. He attempts to piece together what happens in the inner regions of the human mind when faced with such events as the ones presented in this novel. As he says himself, the novel “was an attempt for me to make sense of that tragic event,” in reference to the JFK assassination.

The book itself is very experimental in its structure. The author actually suggests that it be read at random, with the reader flipping through pages and picking paragraphs that seem interesting. Each chapter has a title, and most of the paragraphs in a chapter have bolded titles at the beginning of each paragraph. The paragraphs do not necessarily follow order, but occasionally they will. One chapter, titled Why I Want to Fuck Ronald Reagan differs from the rest of the novel in that it is written as if it were a scientific paper.

If read conventionally, the reader is presented with scenario after scenario as seen/thought/told by the main character, Traven. Traven’s name changes with almost every chapter, save the ones where he is actually himself. His names change between Travis, Talbot, Tallis, Trabert, and many others. It is never explained which of the chapters have actually happened in the real world, or whether any of them ever occur at all outside of Traven’s head. Many of the characters die or are killed a number of times, but appear again in subsequent chapters. As it is presented, it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish what is actually happening. This layout of the novel completely detracts from the narrative. It makes it nearly impossible to follow any sort of logical progression through the story. Its episodic nature destroys the linear progression. But even the suggestion by the author to read in random pieces becomes problematic. Reading it conventionally, we can establish that the protagonist has multiple personas and manifestations, whereas, if random selections are read, this might not become very apparent, if apparent at all.

Much of the language Ballard uses is repeated over and over again throughout the novel. He uses many of the same words in nearly all the descriptions. The word “pumice” appears in descriptions numerous times each chapter, as well as a catalogue of geometric math terms. The repetition of specific words, characters, and scenarios creates the effect Ballard is looking for. In the preface, Burroughs states that “Sexual arousal results from the repetition and impact of image,” which is a theme Ballard examines in high detail throughout the novel.

This edition is different than the other printed versions because it contains a number of illustrations by Phoebe Gloeckner. These illustrations are very graphic. They often involve genitalia or other anatomic images. For example, one illustration is that of a nude woman in a squatting position. As if there was an X-ray, the insides of the woman can be seen and are pointed out with an arrow and name of the body part. The image shows the squatting woman committing a sexual act, and displays it as if it were an image from a Biology textbook. These illustrations supplement the reading by being as nearly graphic as the text itself. They present something sexual, but in an unsexual way, similar to the themes in the book. It is a very sex oriented book, with multiple characters engaging in the act, but it is entirely unsexy and void of romance.

Something else new to this edition is the inclusion of the author’s annotations and commentary. These annotations can be either particularly helpful throughout the reading, or completely useless. Ballard attempts to explain why he used specific names or places through his commentary. But for every one he can describe with great insight, he gives another that just seems random. For example, he has no explanation for why he used the time and date “11:47 a.m., June 23rd, 1975.” He says in the annotation, “I can’t remember the significance of 11:47 a.m. on a June day in 1975, then some eight years ahead.” Although these doesn’t illuminate the novel itself, it does show some insight into the workings of the author. And with an experimental work such as this, any insight into the author’s thoughts can be helpful in understanding the work.

As stated earlier, the events that take place are so ambiguous and vague, that the reality of the characters is irrelevant. It’s an examination of a single character, spread out over a number of his own self projections. Whether or not Ballard succeeds in connecting sexual arousal with vicious atrocities, acts of violence, or car crashes is up to each individual reader. Although I’m not entirely convinced, the novel makes for a fantastic read. His themes are both shocking and revelatory, and they succeed in establishing a form of dialogue, whether about mass media or the “roots of sexuality.” Unfortunately, the structure of the novel holds it back from being completely accessible. The paragraphs are often so short that it requires close reading of each sentence to reduce any sort of meaning or action from the lines. It requires a higher amount of attention than normally required, which will scare many. Even with close reading, some ideas only make sense with the author’s annotations. It’s hard to imagine even reading the novel without the commentary.