A Bad Case of Sunburn (Empire of the Sun - J G Ballard)

Member Name: Ophelia

Product:	Empire of the Sun - J G Ballard
Date:	12/10/03 (362 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interesting observations, see the courage of youth

Disadvantages: Not as good as the film

Ballard?s tale of a young boy held in a Japanese internment camp after the fall of Shanghai during the Second World War obviously draws heavily from his own experiences. Ballard himself was held in Lunghua Camp from 1942-1945 and while reading the book it is brought home to the reader that similar events really did occur to a young boy and the horrors that are observed happened to many real people during the War, making the book a sobering read.

Jim lives with his parents in an up market area of Shanghai. When Japan make their attack on Pearl Harbour Jim and the rest of Shanghai find themselves plunged into the war. Jim is separated from his parents and ends up in Lunghua internment camp and the book relates his experiences here until the end of the war and beyond until he is reunited with his family.

Jim comes from a privileged background; his life is full of fancy dress parties, servants, private schooling and white Cadillacs. Poverty and hardship are rife within the streets of Shanghai but this never touches Jim in his closeted rich world. As his life changes his new position as a prisoner is in stark contrast to his earlier existence. He no longer eats delicacies but sweet potatoes crawling with weevils. Gone are his clean clothes, his smart school uniform and instead his clothes grow ragged and any new items come as hand-me-downs from the dead.

Despite this huge change in his life Jim takes it all in his stride. This is probably partially due to his age. Children seem to be more flexible than adults and Jim is certainly adaptable. When he is first separated from his parents he finds himself alone and forced to find food and water where he can. He is extremely bright and never gives up hope. He forages amongst the abandoned houses in his neighbourhood and befriends Japanese troupes that also give him food.

We cannot help but admire Jim?s fortitude and bravery. His comfortable world has been shattered and yet not o
nce does he dwell on this or bathe in self-pity. He concentrates on the practicalities of survival and his efforts normally bring results. Our interest and sympathies have been engaged and we are constantly gripped by Jim?s experiences and his fate.

Jim?s initiative extends to live within the camp. He recognises the usefulness of doing favours for others and ingratiates himself with camp guards, the camp doctor and other figures with influence. We soon learn that within the harsh context of war, where survival is fought for, that most people only look out for themselves and their immediate family. Jim is at a disadvantage and, although he curries favour with others they often don?t repay him fairly but his past actions towards them may sometimes make the difference between life and death.

One of the most interesting aspects of the book is that it centres on the experiences of a child. As such we see the war and the wartime experiences through the eyes of a child, with a child?s naivety and without the events being clouded by an adult?s prejudices. Jim holds a great respect for the Japanese, for their flying abilities and for their codes of honour. As the war nears its end he is aware of the reality of the situation; once the Allies have won, the Japanese will no longer feed their prisoners and so half of Jim urges the Japanese to victory, as this seems a safer option in order to ensure his continued survival.

Another element of interest is the apparent differences between the nationalities within the internment camp. The British are very, well, British! They insist on naming areas of the camp after London street names, they form dramatic groups and perform Oscar Wilde and they nag Jim to learn his Latin vocabulary. All this seems to be an attempt to cling on to their past lives and it is almost as though they refuse to come to terms with the new situation they find themselves in. Doing drama and conjugating verbs will not help
their survival.

The Americans attitude is markedly different; they do not attempt to carry on their lives as before but adapt to their new situation. Jim seems to realise the sense of this and admires them for it and tries to emulate their outlook on the situation. The American prisoners concentrate on amassing items of use; they barter in cigarettes, condoms or clothes and get what pleasure they can from life by playing cards or entertaining single ladies in the camp.

Jim seems to be a remarkable young boy. He has great resilience and determination. He is intelligent and constantly thinks ahead in an attempt to ensure his survival for as long as possible. Within the context of the war and the ever-decreasing food supplies of the camp this is extremely prudent and once again we admire this lad for his foresight. Around Jim hundreds die from malaria or dysentery or starvation and yet even while himself suffering from infected sores, diseased gums and dizzy from lack of food he has an unending optimism and the fight and determination never leaves him. What a courageous boy.

The only problem I had with the book came from the age old film of the book trouble. Normally a film is ruined as one sits there thinking ?the book was much better?. However, in this instance I was plagued in another manner; I have previously seen the film and despite the fact that it was years ago, I retained strong images of it in my mind. The fact is that the film, which starred Christian Bale, Nigel Havers and Miranda Richardson amongst others, was extremely powerful, beautifully filmed and skilfully acted. In a way the film was hard to live up to and it actually fleshed the book out and added scenes and events that did not occur in the novel. (Had I read the book first, I am sure that I would have complained vociferously at this fact!) It is also probably due to the fact that the film seems to contain more emotion than the book, due to the text?s neutral
ity as being observed from the child?s point of view.

Nevertheless the book is an extremely interesting read. Not only are we enthralled by our hero?s exploits but we are fascinated by our observations of human nature when threatened by extreme conditions. It seems that a human?s will to survive is paramount and will prevail before common etiquette and compassion.

I would certainly recommend this as an entertaining and fascinating read but would urge those of you who have not seen the film to read the novel first. In that way you will highly enjoy both media to the full.



FURTHER INFO
Publisher: Granada Publishing Ltd, Grafton Street, London
ISBN: 0-586-06430-3
Price: £6.99

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