89 Quotes by J.G. Ballard

"Remember, David, the middle class have to be kept under control. They understand that, and police themselves. Not with guns and gulags, but with social codes. The right way to have sex, treat your wife, flirt at tennis parties or start an affair. There are unspoken rules we all have to learn."

"Dissembling was so large a part of middle-class life that honesty and frankness seemed the most devious stratagem of all. The most outright lie was the closest one came to truth."

"The house was silent, but somewhere in the garden was a swimming pool filled with unsettled water."

"Once it gets off the ground into space, all science fiction is fantasy."

"So, with all this time on my hands, I decided to start a revolution."

"A kind of banalization of celebrity has occurred: we are now offered an instant, ready-to-mix fame as nutritious as packet soup."

"Art exists because reality is neither real nor significant."

"In the post-Warhol era a single gesture such as uncrossing one's legs will have more significance than all the pages in War and Peace."

"Kill a politician and you're tied to the motive that made you pull the trigger."

"the ragged skyline of the city resembled the disturbed encephalograph of an unresolved mental crisis."