Millennium People – JG Ballard

Millennium People – JG Ballard – ISBN – 0-00-655161-0

One of the books that have sat unread for ages, partly due to being in my parents loft for a few years!! Despite loving JG Ballard, I was surprised to see how few of his books I’ve read. I know I have got ‘Crash’ somewhere unread from about 7 or 8 years ago!!

Anyway, Millennium People, I am glad I waited almost 7 years to read this book as it is (IMHO) more relevant now than when it was published. It concerns middle England rising up to throw off the shackles of modern life to become the new poor. At the heart of it, there is the search for the murderer of the main characters ex-wife, although I must admit I kinda figured out who it was way early and couldn’t see how the main character was oblivious to it.

A good and thought-provoking read, although don’t believe all the blurb and reviewer soundbites. It isn’t shocking, radical or terrifying, but perhaps that just reflects how society has moved on in the intervening years since it was published and what is tolerable/normal in this day and age.