stefangutermuth.com

British writer J.G.Ballard has died. His work was dystopian, and yet difficult to put down. Ballard conjured up complete worlds that were plausible, fascinating, often sinister, but never too fantastic to be believable. He considered himself an imaginative writer more than a science fiction writer, exploring the change brought about by science and technology. 

Novels such as The Drought, 1965, anticipated catastrophic climate change. High Rise, 1975, is a stunning, Lord of the Flies sort of survival drama played out in a modern high rise building as the inhabitants destroy conventional society and revert to the laws of the jungle. This paperback edition of  The Impossible Man, from, 1966, contains some of Ballard’s unforgettable short stories.

V. Vale, of REsearch Publications, wrote a memorium at Laughing Squid.

French artist J.J. Grandville was a caricaturist and illustrator. Among his many talents, was anthropomorphic illustration. By combining human and animal characteristics into remarkable, fantastic creatures, Grandville satirized his political and social mileu. These surreal wood engravings from 1842, were a huge influence on Sir John Tenniel’s illustrations for Alice in Wonderland, on Franz Kafka’s writing, and on Walt Disney. 

I was able to view a nice edition of Vie Privee et Publique Des Animaux, thanks to the French Library at U.C. Berkeley. A witty and telling commentary on politics and personalities (I’m told), this book is crammed with stunning illustrations.