bungakumi reviewed Empire of the Sun by J. G. Ballard
Review of 'Empire of the Sun' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
There was something about this book. I think maybe it was the emptiness that the child felt through out the war. Probably it was the absurdity of it. There may not be other way to put this.
This book is crude. It shows you how it is to grow up in a world where hope is your worst enemy, where kindness doesn't matter and all you have is yourself because the few people who may care for you... they will most surely die. It is horrible and despairing but that's war. It's pointless, it's stupid, it's suffering that stays with you forever.
I can't help but feel so infinitely sad for Jim. How scarred he ended up. How he had to grow so damn fast. How no one gave a damn about him. How can someone grow up in the midst of such despair and emptiness? How can someone just …
There was something about this book. I think maybe it was the emptiness that the child felt through out the war. Probably it was the absurdity of it. There may not be other way to put this.
This book is crude. It shows you how it is to grow up in a world where hope is your worst enemy, where kindness doesn't matter and all you have is yourself because the few people who may care for you... they will most surely die. It is horrible and despairing but that's war. It's pointless, it's stupid, it's suffering that stays with you forever.
I can't help but feel so infinitely sad for Jim. How scarred he ended up. How he had to grow so damn fast. How no one gave a damn about him. How can someone grow up in the midst of such despair and emptiness? How can someone just keep on living after feeling so ripped apart... so dead?
It amazes me. How some people have such an immense willingness to live, even after having seen the worst of humanity, of the world. I don't know how they do it. I really don't.
But it was a beautifully sad book. A book about life and death. A book about survival.
A book about a boy who kept on living, because really, what else could he do?
