Question

I want the synopsis of the story 'Chronopolis' - by J.G.Ballard

Answer 1

Ahhh, J.G.Ballard…one of my favourites authors. With the big screen adaptation of ‘High-Rise coming to our cinemas shortly and World Book Day trending, I thought I’d go back to Ballard’s ‘The Complete Short Stories, Volume 1.’ I’m currently halfway though ‘Volume 2,’ but there was one particular story in ‘Volume 1’ that has always stuck with me. That particular short story is ‘Chronopolis’, one of Ballard’s early short stories. It is a scintillating exploration of the meaning, use, and adaptation of ‘time.’ The plot unfolds in Ballard’s usual, cryptic manner, alike to the many ‘science fiction’ short stories he wrote earlier on in his career (and, in my opinion, some of his best work. Both volumes of short stories are full of treasures that are either prototypes for his later novels or one-off masterpieces.) In his own words, these short stories represent a ‘visionary present’, a term that can be applied to all of his novels. Yes, his earlier science fiction stories may involve tapes and spools, so are easy to ridicule with our knowledge of USB sticks, clouds, etc. But Ballard has always explored the ‘psychology’ of the future.