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stink0 's review for:

The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard
4.0

I’m a little torn with this one. I enjoyed it, yes, but reading it exhausted me, though maybe that’s a sign that the heat of the drowned world was conveyed satisfactorily. Lounging in direct sunlight has a way of making me sleepy, even if I prefer my sunlight indirect and with scattered thunderstorms.

The fatalistic mentality of the protagonist was… well, I mean, it’s a Ballard. I really resonated with Kerans despite my aversion to heat. The compulsive urge to make things worse for oneself in the name of “well, why not?” I especially enjoyed the bits about altered reality; spending too much time in a habitat not ideal for humans to the point where sanities and realities start to become warped. Anyone who’s worked odd hours will understand exactly how Kerans is feeling; or at least, I did.

I am not looking forward to summer in this city, but I have a feeling I’ll behave a tad better about it than a man who has to live in a world with giant mosquitoes.