Empire of the Sun - a modern classic (Empire of the Sun - J G Ballard)

Member Name: sonic0209

Product:	Empire of the Sun - J G Ballard
Date:	28/12/08 (122 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Compelling, ground breaking

Disadvantages: Brutal in places

First published in 1984, Empire of the Sun won the Guardian Fiction Prize amongst others and has been hailed as a modern literary classic. It was made into a major motion picture in 1987 with a screenplay by Tom Stoppard, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Christian Bale, John Malkovich and Miranda Richardson. Set in China as the Japanese invade post Pearl Harbour, it is based on JG Ballard's own childhood experiences as an intern of a Japanese camp outside Shanghai during the Second World War.

The book follows twelve-year-old Jim, who lives a privileged life in pre-war Shanghai, set amongst the melting pot of nationalities in the International Settlement (made up of British, Americans, New Zealanders, Canadians and Danes), alongside Germans and Japanese and the largely down trodden Chinese. As Jim and his parents are chauffeur-driven through Shanghai to a fancy dress party the contrast between their lifestyle and the rest of the city is vividly highlighted as they pass a Chinese beggar slowly dying of hunger and cold at the end of their drive. The car accidentally drives over the beggar's foot, but whilst Jim notices this, nothing is said and no action is taken. This incident is not surprising or untoward to the occupants of the car.

This life of cocktail and pool parties is turned upside down with the events that follow Pearl Harbour as the Japanese invade and occupy Shanghai. Jim becomes separated from his parents and the novel follows his fight for survival through the war. At first he returns to his home, but this and the other houses in the expat International Settlement and the French Concession are all deserted. He survives for a while breaking into these mansions and eating cocktail snacks and liqueur chocolates but then tries to surrender to the Japanese as he realises that there is no other hope for survival. He spends four years in the camp at Lunghua, where there is a constant obsession with getting enough food to survive, often at the expense of others.

This really is an extraordinary book. The descriptions of the chaos of Shanghai post Japanese invasion are vivid and troubling, the frank portrayal of camp life show the disintegration of society. The chaos and horror of war, particularly here in China where the mix of nationalities, the differing agendas and the way in which the Second World War segued into the Cultural Revolution, make for a tense read where no person can be trusted, not even your fellow prisoners. The only thing that matters is survival, at no matter what expense.

Whilst the book is no doubt told through the eyes of an adolescent boy because of JG Ballard's own experiences, this has the uncommon effect of a portrayal without subtext. There is an absolute truth and honesty in the descriptions of the events that occur such that they are presented as simple fact, rather than as dramatic tool. In some cases we make the leap from a child's description to our own understanding of the more serious and wide reaching implications of that description. The result in some cases is that what are sometimes brutal, but not gory, scenes simply described as they are seen by Jim, take on a very poignant and sometimes almost sickening significance by the reader.

Having said this, the book is not without imagery - the scenes in Shanghai just after the invasion as Jim cycles around in search of his parents and in search of food, are post-apocalyptic with the abandoned mansions and their empty swimming pools and overgrown gardens. The shining planes are seen by Jim as objects of wonder and almost as shining saviours, no matter whether they are American or Japanese.

What makes Empire of the Sun stand out is its harsh reality, heightened by the fact that it is the story of a child without preconceptions or any wider moral code. There is no glory in war here, no heroism, no British fighting spirit. Jim's fight to survive means that he would rather surrender to the Japanese than resist them, that he sees himself as safer within the camp fences than without, that every relationship he builds has to have its payback and value. If the war results in a breakdown of society, it could not be more accurately and honestly portrayed than through the eyes of this young man, who finds his own way to make the war work for him.

In 2008 Empire of the Sun was re-printed as part of the Perennial Collection (a series of prizewinners, bestsellers and modern classics). The collection has a series of cool covers designed by Petra Boner (www.dutchuncle.co.uk) and is appended by a series of articles and an interview with the author all of which provide an enlightening footnote to the novel.

I thoroughly recommend this book, no matter what edition you get hold of. It can be purchased cheaply (under £1) from Amazon and I borrowed mine from the local library.

Summary: Highly recommended - a WW2 novel not to be missed