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July 20, 2010
Vermilion Sands - JG Ballard
Vermilion Sands by J.G. Ballard, is the perfect accompaniment to this slightly hotter and dryer than usual Summer we are having in the UK. It's a collection of stories set in a resort on the edge of a desert lake. The resort is fading, it's best days behind it, the occupants are jaded and searching for better times, the stories evoke images of hot lazy days with small twists of oddness. And, despite being published in 1971, only one of the stories feels a bit dated mainly due to the use of automated poetry machines. (Great idea though.)The stories are linked by their setting, and I inferred that they are chronological with regards to Vermilion Sands. Whether that's true or not they flow nicely into one another. All of them have some slightly odd idea at their centre, whether it's sculpting art in clouds with gliders, creating statues that sing, or houses that morph to their owners mood. The characters are often searching for something, restless and wanting. Intriguing even.
As you would expect with Ballard, the writing is great, evocative and illuminating, with paragraphs that I loved reading more than once. The sort of stuff I want to clip somewhere and keep as quotes to aspire to.
Strangely I found myself falling asleep a lot when reading these stories, as though the essence of Vermilion Sands had infected me and I was dozing away the days as a has-been film star. I can't quite explain it, because I enjoyed the stories immensely.
I know have the urge to seek out more Ballard. Once this hot, lazy summer has passed by this fading town.