Reviews

Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard

matthew_hough's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

margocandela's review against another edition

5.0

I read this after seeing the movie, my goodness Christian Bale has grown up to be a strapping young man, and it's one of my all time treats of a read.

mindykaye's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

3.5

anniesine's review against another edition

3.0

Mid

crzy4luke's review against another edition

I couldn’t get into the book. Maybe I will try again at a different time 

loolatho_'s review against another edition

challenging informative sad tense slow-paced

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

2.75

cozi82's review

dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

crxtch's review against another edition

slow-paced

3.25

magpie888's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny hopeful fast-paced

5.0

aleffert's review against another edition

4.0

This is the fictionalized war memoir of famed science fiction writer J. G. Ballard. On average he's about twelve and stuck in a Japanese prison camp outside Shanghai without his parents. Everyone knows war is awful, but trust Ballard to get how frickin' weird it is and how quickly the veneer of civilization vanishes.

Apparently there's a Spielberg movie with Christian Bale. It seems like much of the book is internal monologue so I'm curious how that works.