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hannahbisbis's review
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Well, that was horrifying — except for the claim that matriarchy is inevitable, especially when dealing with varying levels of wealthy, infantile “genius special boys” who want to have indistinguishable sex mommies and to go wild. Yet, it was honestly so accurate in talking about the violence inherent in and underneath “professionalism” and “civilized” culture as well as society’s gross obsession with technology, which can be a way to recreate and to perpetuate violence.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Blood, Alcoholism, Murder, Violence, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Incest, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
alexhaydon's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Not sure what I was expecting going into this one but it was extremely transportive and I'm happy to have read it in a couple of sittings. We observe life in a High Rise through 3 different male perspectives. Each narrator is of a different class and corresponding level within the High Rise. The lower class/level narrator is Wilder, Middle Class Laing and the Upper Class Royal (who also is the architect of our tower). I enjoyed how suggestive their names were and their perspectives were all rather unique, though became very similar towards the end of the novel as the High Rise's decline grew more stark. None of these characters are likeable, though I think Laing's viewpoint was the most palatable? I'm being very generous using that word because even his view is horrifying, but what I mean is that he makes some astute observations that perhaps those in the polar ends of the class system are unable to see so markedly...
Ballard does a great job of making the High Rise seem both labyrinthine and vast, while also suffocating and claustrophobic. The wonders of the Tower's facilities quickly descend into settings for gore and great misfortune. The tension Ballard builds is so tangible and visceral I was feeling the need to look over my own shoulder! A lot of reviews rightly draw comparison between High Rise and Lord of The Flies, and it definitely resembles the old classic, but dare I say its modern tower block stage made its subconscious commentary on the regression of civilisation and society much more poignant. At the end of my copy there is a brief interview with Ballard and he explains how due to his previous life experiences, he is very much aware that our everyday lives and human comforts can be 'dismantled overnight'.
My only qualms with this novel were its female characters...I would have enjoyed a female perspective, rather than seeing them largely as victims and servants. Perhaps this is a commentary in its own way but it did get tedious. Lastly, it got a bit repetitive at times, towards the halfway and 2/3 mark it seemed to need to find its footing again but this didn't grate on me too much.
Overall I'm excited to hear of other people's experience with this novel and look forward to reading more Ballard...just hopefully with a more diverse cast list.
Ballard does a great job of making the High Rise seem both labyrinthine and vast, while also suffocating and claustrophobic. The wonders of the Tower's facilities quickly descend into settings for gore and great misfortune. The tension Ballard builds is so tangible and visceral I was feeling the need to look over my own shoulder! A lot of reviews rightly draw comparison between High Rise and Lord of The Flies, and it definitely resembles the old classic, but dare I say its modern tower block stage made its subconscious commentary on the regression of civilisation and society much more poignant. At the end of my copy there is a brief interview with Ballard and he explains how due to his previous life experiences, he is very much aware that our everyday lives and human comforts can be 'dismantled overnight'.
My only qualms with this novel were its female characters...I would have enjoyed a female perspective, rather than seeing them largely as victims and servants. Perhaps this is a commentary in its own way but it did get tedious. Lastly, it got a bit repetitive at times, towards the halfway and 2/3 mark it seemed to need to find its footing again but this didn't grate on me too much.
Overall I'm excited to hear of other people's experience with this novel and look forward to reading more Ballard...just hopefully with a more diverse cast list.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Murder, Classism, Confinement, and Gore
bookbelle5_17's review
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Classism, Animal death, Misogyny, Violence, Death, Rape, and Murder
samwhoisthat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Excrement, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Death, and Violence
domreadsb00ks's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, Murder, and Gun violence
emmathebookworm's review against another edition
To be honest, I only started this book because Tom Hiddleston narrated it.
I loved the concept, it just didn´t work for me. It was quite good in the beginning, but everything went downhill from there. Even Tom ‘sexy British accent’ Hiddleston couldn’t help me through it.
This is one of the very few times the movie is better than the book.
I loved the concept, it just didn´t work for me. It was quite good in the beginning, but everything went downhill from there. Even Tom ‘sexy British accent’ Hiddleston couldn’t help me through it.
This is one of the very few times the movie is better than the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Murder, Animal death, and Misogyny
Moderate: Rape
mariska17's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Minor: Colonisation, Death, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Incest, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Vomit, and Cannibalism
tprsjr's review against another edition
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
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Murder
slipp99's review
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
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Cannibalism, Sexual violence, and Sexism
Minor: Child abuse, Eating disorder, and Abandonment
twilightsun1125's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Death, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence
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