Today is what would have been J.G. Ballard’s 85th birthday. To celebrate, we have quite the Ballardian line-up on the site. Here, though, is a very special piece written by none other than David Cronenberg…
The long-awaited publishing of Consumed gave us a chance to interview its writer, the director and king of venereal horror, David Cronenberg. In this wonderfully in-depth yet satisfyingly broad interview, we speak about the book, Cronenberg’s processes, how similar writing prose is to directing, film, existentialism, the advancement of technology and, nausea. Read more…
David Cronenberg is finally unleashing into the world Consumed, a dark, visceral piece of fiction sure to shock, unsettle and remind you why he’s the king of the body horror genre.
Consumed is exactly what fans of Cronenberg’s films would expect from his first novel: hypnotic, darkly comic, with vividly drawn characters moving through a landscape that at first seems alien, only to become frighteningly familiar. Read more…
We were so excited both to reissue Crash, and to have Zadie Smith write the introduction, that we at 4th Estate had no idea how best to celebrate today’s publication appropriately. Editor Clare Reihill suggested that we get in touch with Ballard’s daughters Beatrice and Fay and ask them to write something about their father. What came of this you’ll read below; two equally touching pieces, both so different to one another yet so pleasingly similar. Thank you, Beatrice and Fay, for sharing with us memories of Ballard that we’d never have known. Read more…