Crash

In this hallucinatory novel, an automobile provides the hellish tableau in which Vaughan, a "TV scientist" turned "nightmare angel of the highways," experiments with erotic atrocities among auto crash victims, each more sinister than the last. James Ballard, his friend and fellow obsessive, tells the story of this twisted visionary as he careens rapidly toward his own demise in...

In this hallucinatory novel, an automobile provides the hellish tableau in which Vaughan, a "TV scientist" turned "nightmare angel of the highways," experiments with erotic atrocities among auto crash victims, each more sinister than the last. James Ballard, his friend and fellow obsessive, tells the story of this twisted visionary as he careens rapidly toward his own demise in an internationally orchestrated car crash with Elizabeth Taylor. A classic work of cutting-edge fiction, "Crash" explores both the disturbing implications and horrific possibilities of contemporary society's increasing dependence on technology as intermediary in human relations.

詹姆斯·巴拉德（1930－2009），英国作家，从小在上海的租借地长大，“二战”期间曾被关进日军的战俘集中营，对战争的恐怖回忆，大大影响了他日后的创作，使他被奉为“赛博朋克”（Cyberpunk）文学导师。他的名著《太阳帝国》（Empire of the Sun）曾入围1984年布克奖的决选。而《撞车》则是他的颠峰之作。此书初成之际，曾受多家出版社的拒绝，甚者竟建议他去寻求心理医生的治疗。然而，三十年后，这部融汇性、科技、精神分析、恋物的作品最终变成了一部经典。美国文坛的灵魂人物苏珊•桑塔格曾盛赞巴拉德是“当代小说中最具智慧的声音”。