A review by davygibbs
Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard

5.0

Shocking, beautiful, terrifying, soul-crushing, redemptive ... I don't know which of these to use or in what order, or whether I can stop there. What a magnificent book this is. It is very difficult to square the events in this book with the life and career that JG Ballard still had ahead of him. It's hard to imagine anyone going through this as a child and finding the will and courage and strength to rise above the total ruination of it and get free. Only to revisit it years later with masterful skill and nuance and turn it into a literary masterpiece.