J G Ballard's Cocaine Nights

Read this nearly a year ago but has definitely stuck with me. The title is kind of misleading as clandestine, profuse narcotic consumption is only part of the web of intrigue that this writer is spinning.

The story has the feel of a crime thriller with reporter Charles Prentice arriving at a Spanish resort for ex-pats in order to unravel the events of his brother's incaceration for a fatal housefire. Ballard's resort provides a seductive backdrop as Charles gets drawn into its idiosynchratic world, flirting with danger and liasing with the locals who never give much away, not least his club owner brother.

The usual Ballard themes arise, the quest for utopia and the trappings which follow but there are poignant touches that merely add to the tension as we reach the terrifying conclusion.



  ¶ Saturday, July 03, 2004