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Cocaine Nights by J G Ballard
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Cocaine Nights (original 1996; edition 1997)

by J G Ballard (Author)

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1,1901316,410 (3.44)59
'Snort up "Cocaine Nights". It's disorientating, deranging and knocks the work of other avant-garde writers into a hatted cock' Will Self Five people die in an unexplained house fire in the Spanish resort of Estrella de Mar, an exclusive enclave for the rich, retired British, centred on the thriving Club Nautico. The club manager, Frank Prentice, pleads guilty to charges of murder - yet not even the police believe him. When his Charles arrives to unravel the truth, he gradually discovers that behind the resort's civilized fa#65533;ade flourishes a secret world of crime, drugs and illicit sex. At once an engrossing mystery and a novel of ideas, 'Cocaine Nights' is a stunningly original work, a vision of a society coming to terms with a life of almost unlimited leisure. This edition is part of a new commemorative series of Ballard's works, featuring introductions from a number of his admirers (including Neil Gaiman, Zadie Smith, John Lanchester and Martin Amis) and brand-new cover designs.… (more)
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Title:Cocaine Nights
Authors:J G Ballard (Author)
Info:Flamingo (1997), 336 pages
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Cocaine Nights by J G Ballard (1996)

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English (11)  Spanish (1)  Catalan (1)  All languages (13)
Showing 1-5 of 11 (next | show all)
This book is almost an earlier version of Super-Cannes, set in a very similar resort community, in which a psychotic psychologist/psychiatrist character believes that the people in his community require crime to avoid becoming complacent and faded. This idea, a sort of redemptive side of violence and taboo, which to be fair does indeed turn up in cultures all over the world, tends to by misogynist and ableist, glorifying in racism and exultant 'othering' of anyone at all different in order to have enough appropriate victims to satisfy the elites' need for a criminal fix. In this novel it is particularly unconvincing, and the story relies on the idea that the psycho promoting crime is very charismatic. Whether the plus-side of crime has any merit or not, this book does bring up good questions about the nature of complacency in the modern world. But, I think Super-Cannes did a better job overall. ( )
  JBarringer | Dec 15, 2023 |
"the arts and criminality have always flourished side by side."

'Cocaine Nights' is set in the fictional private resort town of Estrella de Mar on the Costa del Sol. Five people have been killed in an arson attack and the local sports club manager Frank Prentice immediately pleads guilty to it. His brother, travel writer Charles Prentice, travels to Estrella de Mar, hoping clear Frank. Instead Charles finds himself inveigled in a strange world of unexplained criminality.

Globetrotting Charles has never visited the Costa del Sol before and the first thing he notices when he arrives there is the feeling of paralyzing stillness amongst its
ex-pat residents, their sun-soaked boredom has become their most prized possession. However, Estrella de Mar is anything but boring. The residents are active and joyous all seemingly inspired by random surges of violence orchestrated by their own charismatic resident tennis pro, Bobby Crawford.

In truth there isn't really any sense of mystery about this book, its pretty obvious from early on who the villain is, and even the ending is relatively predictable. Charles is a likeable character but what makes this novel interesting is Ballard's portrayal of the sense of boredom and impunity felt amongst the rich and privileged. Who seemingly have no ambitions in life left and would spend their remaining days in self-contained, hermetically sealed housing developments in a cloud of vodka or Valium if it wasn't for random moments of criminal instability.

“We're building prisons all over the world and calling them luxury condos.”

In a world where more and more people seem to desire early retirement but find that they have nothing to fill their days except satellite television despite their initial plans for an more adventurous life makes this an interesting idea. However, the limited action throughout meant that I felt that the Ballard hadn't really followed through with it as much as he might have done. Ultimately I felt that this novel was just too similar to another novel of Ballard, 'Super-Cannes', with many of the same ideas, to make it really stand out. ( )
  PilgrimJess | Jul 15, 2023 |
Interesting and strange. Much more readalethan Atrocity Exhibition and less weird than High Rise. ( )
  evil_cyclist | Mar 16, 2020 |
Dove stiamo andando?

Ballard è (stato, ahimè non ci illuminerà più con altri racconti) uno dei pochi scrittori contemporanei ad indagare minuziosamente la follia moderna dietro comportamenti apparentemente normali. Dopo tante conquiste sociali, economiche, industriali, sembra proprio che l'uomo, perduto ogni contatto con la sua dimensione più reale, abbia di nuovo bisogno di "sporcarsi" con i suoi istinti primordiali. Insicurezza, solitudine, trasgressione, domande che cercano risposte a dubbi ed interrogativi che lasciano impantanati su cosa sia morale e cosa no. L'inferno può anche avere le sembianze di un dorato paradiso e, se guardiamo attentamente il nostro quotidiano, ognuno di noi può dirne di conoscerne un volto.
  Magrathea | Dec 30, 2017 |
Charlie Prentice flies in to Gibraltar en route to the Spanish resort of Estrella de Mar where, catering to the various demands of a large ex-pat British community, his brother Frank has until recently been running a lively country club. However, Charlie learns that Frank is now in prison accused of having started a fire in which five people were killed. Worse, while Charlie is anxious to protest his brother's innocence he is appalled to hear that his brother has confessed to the crime, even though most of the evidence against his is largely circumstantial. Charlie starts to look around the resort in a bid to try to understand how Frank might have come to be in this position.
Priding itself on being very different from some of the down-market Costa Brava or Costa del Sol resorts, Estrella de Mar is actually rather a sinister place for all its self-consciously arty pretensions. most strikingly, there doesn't seem to be even one person for whom the reader might feel any empathy.
Ballard takes us under the veneer of respectability covering the ex-pat community and we encounter drug dealings, infidelity and pornography, as well as dubious psychiatrists and ruthless property developers.
The novel is not without its faults - it is occasionally disjointed, and it does sometimes stretch the reader's credibility. However, Ballard maintains the tension excellently - throughout the novel the reader has no idea where the resolution might lie. ( )
1 vote Eyejaybee | Feb 2, 2013 |
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» Add other authors (2 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Ballard, J Gprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Golüke, Guidosecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lempicka,Tamara deCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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'Snort up "Cocaine Nights". It's disorientating, deranging and knocks the work of other avant-garde writers into a hatted cock' Will Self Five people die in an unexplained house fire in the Spanish resort of Estrella de Mar, an exclusive enclave for the rich, retired British, centred on the thriving Club Nautico. The club manager, Frank Prentice, pleads guilty to charges of murder - yet not even the police believe him. When his Charles arrives to unravel the truth, he gradually discovers that behind the resort's civilized fa#65533;ade flourishes a secret world of crime, drugs and illicit sex. At once an engrossing mystery and a novel of ideas, 'Cocaine Nights' is a stunningly original work, a vision of a society coming to terms with a life of almost unlimited leisure. This edition is part of a new commemorative series of Ballard's works, featuring introductions from a number of his admirers (including Neil Gaiman, Zadie Smith, John Lanchester and Martin Amis) and brand-new cover designs.

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