Reviews with content warning for Violence - High-Rise

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

High-Rise by J.G. Ballard

23 reviews

hippiekender's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective

Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I listened to this book almost entirely because Tom Hiddleston narrated it. It’s absolutely true that I will listen to anything that comes out of that man’s mouth! High Rise was a disturbing, very dark story. I felt compelled to listen to this story in the same way people feel compelled to look at a train wreck. I felt pulled into the absolute collapse and disaster that happened in the high rise, but I don’t think I actually enjoyed it? Am thankful that the SA scenes were not described in detail.

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bookbelle5_17's review

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dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Review of High Rise

By: J.G. Ballard

Robert Laing, a professor of medicine seeks solace after his divorce in this infamous high-rise built by architect, Anthony Royal, but finds himself getting lost in the madness as things start to go horribly wrong in the High-Rise. Richard Wilder is a documentary filmmaker determine to ascend to the top of the high rise and expose its gritty underbelly. Anthony Royal, the architect of the building, studies the residents and how they respond to the building’s malfunctions as if they were animals in a zoo.

This is a bizarre and dark story about humans giving into their more savage and primitive natures. The characters are metaphorically trapped in this high-rise and even when there is an opportunity to go out into the real world, they make excuses not to. The first main character we’re introduced to, Robert Laing refuses to see the reality around him and even when there is no electricity, and he can’t use the water he doesn’t care. His odor represents the wild nature of the high-rise and he’s pleased with it. It’s as if he’s in a drugged state of mind. Richard Wilder, notices Laing has distanced himself and he observes, “Or was there some other impulse at work—a need to shut away, most of all from oneself, any realization of what was actually happening in the high-rise, so that events there could follow their own logic and get even more out of hang?” Laing when watching people from his balcony leaving for work, finds the “civilized behavior” as “unsettling”. Behavior we see as routine and normal is weird and unnatural to him. Richard Wilder, on the other hand, has become more savage and giving into his more primitive nature. Like the other residents, who are determined to protect their floor as if it’s territory, he will kill anyone perceived as a threat. He doesn’t even see that he needs to get his wife and sons out of high-rise as they’re suffering. He stops caring about them seeing them as a nuisance to his desire to climb the ladder of the high-rise. Anthony Royal is the most interesting of the characters as he watches over the residents, fascinated by them. He’s a scientist exploring humanity at its worst. Some of his thoughts are “The five years of his marriage to Anne had given him a new set of prejudices. Reluctantly, he knew that he despised his fellow residents for the way in which they fitted so willingly into their appointed slots in the apartment building, for their over-developed sense of responsibility, and lack of flamboyance.” He sees himself as superior to the other residents and like Robert Laing craves to be by himself. He also resents the people in the high-rise, “In a sense, the vanguard of a well-to-do and well-educated proletariat of the future, boxed up in these expensive apartments with their elegant furniture and intelligent sensibilities, and no possibility of escape”. When we get to his point of view, he and his wife are packing to leave, but even his wife, Anne, knows Royal can’t bring himself to leave. This shows a group of humans losing themselves in their more primitive pleasures and living in the bubble where reality ceases to exist. The only reality is the high-rise. This reminds me of The Circle by David Eggers. Both stories explore getting trapped in your own fantasy reality and not seeing your identity disappear. It’s basically a cult using pleasure to lure you in. Ballard writes beautifully how savage humans can be and how unhealthy it is to isolate yourself from reality. It is disturbing to read, and some parts made me sick, but it’s a brilliant examination of human nature.

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yossy_cookie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I'm not really sure what I just read or if I enjoyed it. This book is incredibly clever and well written, it describes the residents of a new luxury tower block and the "high rise" was an allegory for society in general. Like "Lord Of The Flies", it describes the descent of humans that are confined in an artificial society.

This felt like the kind of book that needs to be studied. I think you could study every page of this book and draw conclusions about everything - the choice of words, the imagery... Even from the main characters being called Wilder (who lives on the lower levels) and Royal (who lives on the top) - I think there is so much you could explore within this book if you wanted to.

There were a lot of parts of this book I didn't enjoy though and often found it heavy going. Some of it is quite disturbing. One relief is that the book itself is quite short.

It's a book I respect, and I think it achieved what the author wanted it to achieve, but I don't think that I would say I particularly enjoyed it. I wouldn't recommend it if you are looking for a light read though.

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samwhoisthat's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes

2.5

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domreadsb00ks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Society collapses and pure prinal urges reign in the crumbling remains of a once promising new skyscraper. While Ballard provided an interesting prediction on how quickly people crumble in the face of their reality collapsing, his chaotic writing style threw me off, and the constant dehumanisation of the female characters stopped me from enjoying it that much.

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annihilatrix's review

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challenging dark sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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wcked's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No

4.0

The audiobook was great. The changes that the people in the building go through is unsettling, especially as the author gives us access to the minds of the three male leads. What most disturbed me was the way the women changed, because it really showed how the values of this new society differed from ours, and how easy it would be for us to become numb to depravity.

I was hoping for no animal violence, but alas.

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mariska17's review

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challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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tprsjr's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

kaayaak's review

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dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Lord of the flies meets modern day society

Listened to this read by Tom Hiddleston. Great experience but not sure if I absorbed the book very well bc I kept getting lost in his voice and I’m not good at auditory learning lol. Seemed really good and well written but take my review w a biased grain of salt. It twas dark tho

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