The definitive cult, post-modern novel a shocking blend of violence, transgression and eroticism.
When our narrator smashes his car into another and watches a man die in front of him, his sense of sexual possibilities in the world around him becomes detached. As he begins an affair with the dead man's wife, he finds himself drawn with increasing intensity to the mangled impacts of car crashes. Then he encounters Robert Vaughan, a former TV scientist turned nightmare angel of the expressway, who has gathered around him a collection of alienated crash victims and experiments with a series of erotic atrocities, each more sinister than the last. But Vaughan craves the ultimate crash - a head-on collision of blood, semen, engine coolant and iconic celebrity.When our narrator smashes his car into another and watches a man die in front of him, his sense of sexual possibilities in the world around him becomes detached. As he begins an affair with the dead man's wife, he finds himself drawn with increasing intensity to the mangled impacts of car crashes. Then he encounters Robert Vaughan, a former TV scientist turned nightmare angel of the expressway, who has gathered around him a collection of alienated crash victims and experiments with a series of erotic atrocities, each more sinister than the last. But Vaughan craves the ultimate crash - a head-on collision of blood, semen, engine coolant and iconic celebrity.
In this bestseller, Ballard explores the dark side of human nature and the obsession with media and fame. The author, the Sunday Times bestselling author, delves into the twisted world of eroticism and violence, creating a literary masterpiece that is both shocking and intriguing.
For fans of Martin Amis (London Fields), Anthony Burgess (Earthly Powers), John Christopher (The World in Winter), Ian Mcewan (Lessons), and Stanislaw Lem (Solaris).