Robert Maitland, a 35 year-old architect, is driving home from his London offices when a blow-out sends his speeding Jaguar hurtling out of control. Smashing through a temporary barrier he finds himself, dazed and disorientated, on a traffic island below three converging motorways. But when he tries to climb the embankment or flag-down a passing car for help it proves impossible – and he finds himself imprisoned on the concrete island. In this twisted version of ‘Robinson Crusoe’, Maitland must learn to survive – using only what he can find in his crashed car.As in all Ballard’s best work ‘Concrete Island’ provides an unnerving study of our modern lives and world. With his alienating ‘Ballardian’ view of normal events, this is a unique novel from one of our finest writers.
