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 Cover of first edition (hardcover) | |
| Author | J. G. Ballard |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Experimental, science fiction |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
Publication date | 1970 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 157 pp |
| ISBN | 0-224-61838-5 |
| OCLC | 161158 |
| 823/.9/14 | |
| LC Class | PZ4.B1893 at PR6052.A46 |
| Preceded by | The Crystal World |
| Followed by | Crash |
The Atrocity Exhibition is an experimental novel of linked stories or "condensed novels" by British writer J. G. Ballard.
The book was originally published in the UK in 1970 by Jonathan Cape. After a 1970 edition by Doubleday & Company had already been printed, Nelson Doubleday Jr. personally cancelled the publication and had the copies destroyed, fearing legal action from some of the celebrities depicted in the book. Thus, the first US edition was published in 1972 by Grove Press under the title Love and Napalm: Export USA.[1] It was made into a film by Jonathan Weiss in 1998.[2][citation needed]
A revised large format paperback edition, with annotations by the author and illustrations by Phoebe Gloeckner, was issued by RE/Search in 1990.[3] The edition with annotations is now standard.
All of the 1970 book originally appeared as stories in magazines before being collected. There is some debate on whether the book is an experimental novel with chapters or a collection of linked stories. With titles such as "Plans for the Assassination of Jacqueline Kennedy", "Love and Napalm: Export USA", and "Why I Want to Fuck Ronald Reagan", and by constantly associating the Kennedy assassination with a sexual or sporting event, the work has maintained controversy, especially in the United States, where some considered it a slur on John F. Kennedy's image. Ballard said "it was an attempt for me to make sense of that tragic event."
- ^ Ballard, J. G. (1972). Love and Napalm: Export U.S.A. New York: Grove Press. ISBN 978-0-394-48277-4.
- ^ "Thirsty Man at the Spigot": An Interview with Jonathan Weiss
- ^ Ballard, J. G. (1990). The atrocity exhibition. San Francisco, CA: RE/Search Publications. ISBN 0-940642-18-2.