Rating: 
Summary: Good idea, but not worth it
Review: The premise of this book really interested me, but upon finishing it, I wished I had used my time for something else. It's a shame, because the first chapter does a good job of grabbing the reader's attention and setting up the book. Once again, however, I find that a full-length novel by Ballard has only enough plot for a short story. The whole car crash-eroticism idea is an intriguing one, but it can't substitute for a storyline. Ballard goes into overkill, beating the reader over the head with all the minute erotic aspects of car crashes; meanwhile, the plot becomes less and less important, and the characters remain stagnant. I would almost say that this book is a parody of a sex-thriller, but after reading "Crash", I think that the other has more merit.*Also, I found Ballard's use of smells in this book laughable. The main character must have some Bloodhound in him.
Rating: 
Summary: odd, odd book
Review: I think this is a very male book. i think there are some books that men just get more than women, and this would be one of them. it reminded me a lot of anais nin's writing, mostly because of the contrast. nin is a writer women will 'get' more than men. it seemed ballard's constant comparision of automobiles to sex was a little forced, and yet he did it and every concevible opportunity. it was tiresome. it got in the way of the story.
Rating:
Summary: Crash. And burn.
Review: I read the book. I had no problem with the subject matter. In fact, I was intrigued by it. BUT.. the writing was PAINFUL, repetetive and weak. How many times can you use the words "Stylized" and "Instrument binnacle"? Perhaps the idea was to make to characters and prose as mechanical as the object of their obsession. Maybe. That MAY make it forgiveable. But that doesn't make it good. The 2 stars I gave were STRICTLY for the subject matter. The writing itself was tedious. I think it's been a very long time since I've read a book that BORED me this much. I hated the characters, they were shallow and self-obsessed, and BORING! Any chance of erotic tension was lost because I honestly didn't give a rat's behind if the characters had sex or not. I stuck with the book, because I hoped there was a point. There wasn't.
Rating: 
Summary: Bloody brilliant.
Review: Apparently, quite a few readers might find a reading of Baudrillard's essay on this novel necessary to fully grasp what Ballard is talking about here. This is an existential exploration of life at the end of the 20th century, and how humanity finds meaning (rightly or wrongly) in it's technology. It's a highly complex read, and not for everyone. One should realize that the sexuality described in the novel is not intended to be erotic, or for that matter "bad", or "destructive", or "dangerous"; it's transcendent. The brilliance of the work lies in Ballard's ability, like Burgess in _A Clockwork Orange_, to subvert the reader's feelings toward the subject matter, so that in the end one begins to actually understand -- even sympathize with -- the characters' behavior. Ballard's prose here is, well... classic Ballard: languid, fever-dream language, which would act as a suitable substitute for LSD. He has one of the most unique "voices" I've ever come across, and is certainly an acquired taste, in relation to other, more mainstream (i.e., mostly unimportant) SF authors. Take a bite, though, and you may find yourself addicted. _Crash_ is the literary equivilent of a brick to the head. I loved it.
Rating: 
Summary: Trash
Review: Ballard's writing has a certain descriptive fluency and some of his earlier short stories were good. It is depressing to see a real talent turned to the production of pretentious, convulsive trash. Who needs a guided tour through nasty, pointless obsessions?
Rating:
Summary: The greatest novel ever written
Review: "Crash" is a very important work because it shows how writers should write whatever is on their mind--to never censor oneself for fear of offending their readers. It is a novel about obsession, lust and the brutality of humankind. Forget the movie because it cannot capture the sheer poetry of Ballard's novel. I for one thought the film was terrible and I love Cronenberg's films. He just couldn't translate the paper to celluloid and I don't think anyone can. It is an unfilmable novel and I'm sad that the only way people are going to learn about it is through the film. If anyone knew the horrors Ballard lived through as a child (see the film "Empire of the Sun"--it is about him) one would understand the novel "Crash" a little bit more than just what they have in front of them in print. The characters are searching for something more in their boring lives and the need for speed, sex and twisted metal of the car crash is a pathetic attempt to destroy this boredom. It is a cry for help and the death of Vaughan awakens the characters from their fetishes to reexamine themselves (especially Ballard) while others continue on the downward spiral of dashboard eroticism coupled with the broken glass of the gas gage and windshield. DO NOT LET ANYONE TELL YOU THIS BOOK IS GARBAGE! If they do, then they do not understand any of it. It is also the bible in understanding the importance of freedom of speech. DO NOT SEE THE FILM; READ IT! Any writer worth their salt will understand what Ballard is doing and will embrace it as I have
Rating:
Summary: Trash
Review: One of the few books I felt compelled to throw against the wall so I could witness the tearing pages mold themselves to the pristine white paint covering my plasterboard. Not shocking, interesting, exciting or experimental... just boring, pretentious, repetitive and overwrought. The only experiment by Ballard was to see how many times he can end paragraphs with the same violent juxtaposition of car and body. Open to any page and you're likely to read something almost exactly like this: "Her left leg rested on the ground, the door pillar realigning both itself and the dashboard mounting to avoid her knee, almost as if the entire car had deformed itself around her figure in a gesture of homage." OK, now try this for 220+ pages. I'm not kidding... it does *not* get more exciting than this.
Rating:
Summary: Crash is a thought-provoking book about sexual obsession
Review: I first rented Crash on video and then decided to read the book for a book report for school I must say that i felt the same way about the book as i did the movie. Crash is so imaginative and so complex. Who would ever think or writing a book about people who associate car crashes with sex? J.G. Ballard, that's who. I think this book is not about car crashes, but sexual obsessions. This book proves that sex can make us do just about anything to get that certain erotic high. A great book for mature people.
Rating:
Summary: Razor sharp warning message for the neon generation
Review: The story is essentially irrelevant. It's strength lies in the string of spiky, clinically described car crashes and sexual encounters which lead us through a metaphor soaked landscape while warning us that while the excesses of 20th century life can be fun, the enjoyment can all too often be terminal. To enjoy fully you have to unlock the book's code, the role of the car as symbolic of 20th century life, the role of the city and concrete, and the final hint of hope in James vision of gleaming crystals and cars taking flight. Not for those who think musical doorbells are cool or Titanic was a fantastic film. Nor those who can't take its scalpel prose and descriptions, which are as uncomfortable as an organ teased through an incision opening. If you read this you should also read High Rise and Concrete Island, which are essentially companion pieces.
Rating:
Summary: I entirely understand what Ballard was writing about here...
Review: however, the story just never takes off. The comparisons Ballard draws between the metaphysics of cars and sexual response is slightly engaging, however, it is not engaging enough to carry you over these 220 odd pages. The story is lackluster. I give the book 2 stars for this concept Ballard explores - drawing parallels between cars and the human experience, etc., however I found the book tedious and repetitive. Bloody shame, too, the book came under high praise.
| 
