J. G. BALLARD
Concrete Island
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
Fourth Estate
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd. 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by Jonathan Cape Ltd 1974
Copyright © J. G. Ballard 1974
J. G. Ballard asserts the moral right to be identifiend as the author of this work
Introduction copyright © Neil Gaiman 2014
‘The Sage of Shepperton’ © Travis Elborough 2008
Cover by Stanley Donwood
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
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Source ISBN: 9780007287048
Ebook Edition © MARCH 2009 ISBN: 9780007321582
Version: 2016-08-17
Contents
Chapter 1 – Through the crash barrier
Chapter 3 – Injury and exhaustion
Chapter 4 – The water reservoir
Chapter 5 – The perimeter fence
Chapter 10 – The air-raid shelter
Chapter 14 – A taste of poison
Chapter 20 – The naming of the island
Chapter 22 – The pavilion of doors
The day-dream of being marooned on a desert island still has enormous appeal, however small our chances of actually finding ourselves stranded on a coral atoll in the pacific. But Robinson Crusoe was one of the first books we read as children, and the fantasy endures. There are all the fascinating problems of survival, and the task of setting up, as Crusoe did, a working replica of bourgeois society and its ample comforts. This is the desert island as adventure holiday. With a supplies-filled wreck lying conveniently on the nearest reef like a neighbourhood cash and carry.
More seriously, there is the challenge of returning to our more primitive natures, stripped of the self-respect and the mental