Product Description

A novel of war, of starvation and survival, of internment camps and death marches, which blends honesty with a vision of a world thrown utterly out of joint. It is rooted in the author's own experience of war in our time. The novel won "The Guardian" Fiction Prize.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40230 in Books
• Published on: 1994-09-12
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 351 pages

About the Author
* #17 in the Millennium SF Masterworks series, a library of the finest science fiction ever written * 'One of the brightest stars in post-war fiction' -- Kingsley Amis * 'There are those (I am among them) who would back Ballard as Britain's number one living novelist' -- John Sutherland, Sunday Times * 'This novel, with its brilliant descriptions of an inundated London and an ecology reverting to the Triassic, gained Ballard acceptance as a major author' -- Encyclopedia of Science Fiction

Customer Reviews

A breathtaking masterpiece
Although everything I have read by Ballard is excellent, I would recommend this book as a starting point. The author weaves autobiography with fiction in a compelling way; in some places the novel hints at the dream-like sequences that he has deployed in other works, but the story is firmly grounded in reality. The most apparent theme is that of survival, but I don't think Ballard wrote this with any kind of agenda; perhaps that's what's so refreshing about it.
One of his greatest talents as a writer is finding moments of beauty in what, for lesser writers, would be mires of ugliness. Ballard's voice is thoroughly modern throughout, despite the book's retrospective narrative: you can instantly tell this is the author of 'The Concrete Island' or 'High Rise', despite how remote those novels are from the second world war.
Those who have seen Spielberg's film will be thoroughly shocked: there is little sentimentality here, and the story is quite different in its later stages. Not that the film is a poor adaptation - rather, it's a seperate entity. Always read the book first!
It's wonderful that an author can use his past as a starting point for fiction, rather than being either grounded in it or evading it. It's hard to tell what is fact from what isn't, and surely that's a good thing.
Finally, I must stress that this is a book which not only survives several repeated reads but seems to require it.

Sublime
Put simply- this book is a masterpiece. In contrast to other, more lauded war novels such as "For Whom The Bell Tolls" and "Slaughterhouse 5", Ballard's effort seems much more soulful and life-like. It is no surprise then that, during the writing of this novel, the author drew heavily on his own childhood experiences of the Second World War. Set in China, "Empire of the Sun" offers a fresh perspective on the Pacific front and conflict in general through the hardships of a young English boy at the hands of his Japanese captors. Despite his problems though, 'Jim' still respects the fearsome Japanese fighters leading to some divided loyalties as the plot progresses. While maybe a little rambling near the middle, the book's beginning and end are strong enough for me to rate it as one of my all time favourites. On the whole I recommend "Empire of the Sun" to anyone with an interest in war literature and anyone with a taste for good British writing.

Justifiably the best book ever written about WW2
To put it simply, Empire of the Sun is my favourite novel of all time. It is a moving, incredibly emotional journey from the safe ground of upper class Shangai, to the uncertain, horrific arena of Lunghua camp and the paddy fields of occupied China. Ballard uses a intense descriptive technique that not only forces the reader to take note of the devious acts of our past, but physically flinch at the prospect that any human being being could be treated in such a neglected, evil way. This novel is not just a semi-autobiographical account of chinese WW2, but a tribute to the great hope and the survival of humanity.