The Day Of Creation by J. G. Ballard. SIGNED COPY.

The Day Of Creation by J. G. Ballard. Hardcover book published by Victor Gollancz 1987, 254 pages. SIGNED COPY.

Here at Huc & Gabet we are just a little bit excited about the new J.G. Ballard film. OK, the film is not made by Ballard (he died in 2009) but it is based on one of his magnificent books, namely, High Rise. This film is starting to get a bit of interest on the www... or maybe it's just me, a Ballard fan, wanting people to be interested. Either way, there is a film coming soon. Thinking back to the last time I read it (it was this century), I can well imagine High Rise on the screen and for some reason the image of the drowned dog is one that I hope they keep in the film.... not because I think that drowned dogs are a good thing, but rather it's a powerful image that has stuck with this High Rise reader.

Film adaptions can at times be a bit dodgy... or even a lot dodgy. A few of Ballards books have made the transition previously (Empire of the Sun and Crash). Crash in particular seems to polarise viewers. The book is about sex and car accidents and amazingly, so is the film. I guess if you don't want to watch a fetish movie about sex and car accidents then it's probably not a film for you. Personally, I thought it was a fine adaptation and yes it was a bit disturbing, a bit like the book.

I don't currently have either a copy of High Rise or Crash for sale. I do have a copy of The Day of Creation which is a later book by Mr Ballard. Here in Australia, this is not an uncommon book to find in hardcover and at a more than reasonable price. What is not that common is to find a copy that has been signed by the man himself:

Despite signed copies being uncommon here in Australia, this isn't the first copy i've found that has been signed during what was probably a promotional tour. I think it's a nice thing to have particularly if you're a fan... as I am.

I mentioned this book to a fellow bookseller the other day and his response was rather interesting. He said that he wasn't that keen on any signed copies of anything as they tended to ruin/damage a book. Despite enjoying an authors scribble, I sort of understand this concept... but that doesn't mean that I don't get excited... and it doesn't mean that one of the earlier signed copies I unearthed isn't in my personal collection.