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Content snapshot
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Violence
A lot
Car crashes, injuries, and their aftermath depicted with clinical detail; intentional recklessness
Language
A lot
Strong language throughout
Sexual Content
Very heavy
Extremely explicit sexual content; multiple graphic scenes including paraphilia
Substance Use
Some
Drug use and alcohol present
Emotional Intensity
A lot
Profoundly disturbing psychological territory exploring erotic fixation on death and trauma
What this book is about
J.G. Ballard's notorious and controversial novel follows the narrator and Vaughan, a scarred drifter who has developed a disturbing sexual obsession with car crashes and celebrity deaths. Provoking in intent, Crash examines technology, the body, media spectacle, and erotic transgression as facets of modern alienation. Ballard himself called it 'a cautionary tale, a warning against the brutal, erotic, and overlit realm that beckons more and more persuasively.'
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Extremely explicit sexual content including paraphilia
Graphic depictions of injury and death
Intentionally transgressive and disturbing themes
Reader Verification
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