Empire of the Sun

When I last read this, I thought that while it was well-written, the actual contents were, well, boring. And upon re-reading, some of it is a bit. But therein arguably lies the point: being in a prison camp - in which the middle third is set - is boring. You would be trying to find entertainment in whatever you could, out of everyday objects or any detritus on the ground. Your daily routines would be incredibly monotonous.

Ballard was never one to be pinned down to one genre and Empire of the Sun is no exception. A blend of fiction and autobiography, drawing heavily from Ballard's childhood experiences of growing up in Japanese-occupied Shanghai during WWII, his background as a key figure of New Wave SF bleeds through into his descriptive prose, despite the book not being an SF novel itself.

The fascination Jim (our protagonist stand-in for a young Ballard) has with aircraft is presented through reoccurring motifs relating to aviation, from walking under rusting fuselages at an abandoned airstrip, to gazing up at miniature aeroplane models hanging from a bedroom ceiling in an empty house whilst he daydreams about being a pilot.

In fact, young Jim frequently doesn't seem to care who wins the war, as long as it ends - that way he can join an air force when things return to normal. Why would a young child care who wins a war when they're separated from their parents, if it means things go back to the way they were?

As a coming-of-age story, semi-autobiographical, or just historical fiction, Ballard's depiction of a young boy's world turned upside down by a war he often doesn't understand takes off in explosions of colour and vibrancy.