Book Review: High-Rise by J.G. Ballard

Slow and boring

For a psychologist, this book might be interesting. Ballard's history is also interesting but, maybe because I was born in the end of the century and I have a different opinion of the world around us, I couldn't relate to the story. That said I am not going to focus the storyline as much as I was thinking I was able to when I started the book. It was too slow to be interesting.
There are two ways to read this book: the high-rise as the main character or the characters as the main focus. The way that the high-rise is built is more interesting because it shows how social classes work, like a pyramid in the Middle Ages. The introduction by Ned Beduman helps a lot, specially if you read it before and after you read the book.
The behaviours of its habitants are the main focus and what keeps things moving, but don't expect much action. I also don't believe that all humans would turn into such selfish, cannibals and schizophrenic when confronted with that situation. Also, it is not realistic. Not anymore, at least. I still believe that good people exist and what hapenned in there was the exception, not the norm.
I would define the book as very futuristic, a vision of a possible apocalypse or a very old vision, not from this century.