Our Next Book is The Atrocity Exhibition by J.G. Ballard

First published in 1970 and widely regarded as a prophetic masterpiece, this is a groundbreaking experimental novel by the acclaimed author of Crash and Super-Cannes. The irrational, all-pervading violence of the modern world is the subject of this extraordinary tour de force. The central character's dreams are haunted by images of John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe, dead astronauts and car-crash victims as he traverses the screaming wastes of nervous breakdown. Seeking his sanity, he casts himself in a number of roles: H-bomber pilot, presidential assassin, crash victim, pscyhopath. Finally, through the black, perverse magic of violence he transcends his psychic turmoils to find the key to a bizarre new sexuality.

Come discuss The Atrocity Exhibition Saturday September 18th at the Main Library in the 3rd Floor Program Room at 11am. Feel free to bring food and drink. 

Some thoughts about Blood and Guts in High School

- What is punk?

- What is obscene? Would be okay if this book was banned from a high school library?

- Is Janey mentally ill? Does she want to get better? Can she get better?

- Is the plot literal, or its it symbolic of processes in Janey's mind? Is it symbolic of processes that happen on a social level?

- By the end of the novel, is Janey empowered or is she a victim?

- Why is the book titled Blood and Guts in High School?

Come discuss Blood and Guts in High School Saturday July 17th at the Main Library in the 3rd Floor Program Room at 11am. Feel free to bring food and drink.