High-Rise: A Novel"Harsh and ingenious! High Rise is an intense and vivid bestiary, which lingers unsettlingly in the mind." —Martin Amis, New Statesman When a class war erupts inside a luxurious apartment block, modern elevators become violent battlegrounds and cocktail parties degenerate into marauding attacks on “enemy” floors. In this visionary tale, human society slips into violent reverse as once-peaceful residents, driven by primal urges, re-create a world ruled by the laws of the jungle. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 56
Page 14
... player. Presumably the bottle had been knocked over the rail by a boisterous guest. Needless to say, no one at the party was in the least concerned about the ultimate destination of this missile—but as Laing had already discovered ...
... player. Presumably the bottle had been knocked over the rail by a boisterous guest. Needless to say, no one at the party was in the least concerned about the ultimate destination of this missile—but as Laing had already discovered ...
Page 16
... played himself into his new life, sitting on his balcony and gazing across the parking-lots and concrete pla- zas below him. Although the apartment was no higher than the 25th floor, he felt for the first time that he was looking down ...
... played himself into his new life, sitting on his balcony and gazing across the parking-lots and concrete pla- zas below him. Although the apartment was no higher than the 25th floor, he felt for the first time that he was looking down ...
Page 21
... player, Wilder lived with his wife and two sons on the 2nd floor of the building. The noisy parties he held with his friends on the lower levels—airline pilots and hostesses sharing apartments—had already put him at the centre of vari ...
... player, Wilder lived with his wife and two sons on the 2nd floor of the building. The noisy parties he held with his friends on the lower levels—airline pilots and hostesses sharing apartments—had already put him at the centre of vari ...
Page 22
... play squash together,' Laing rejoined. Aware of the hint of challenge in Wilder's voice, he added, 'Once a week—I hardly know the man, but I like him.' Wilder sat forward, cradling his heavy head in his fists. Laing noticed that he was ...
... play squash together,' Laing rejoined. Aware of the hint of challenge in Wilder's voice, he added, 'Once a week—I hardly know the man, but I like him.' Wilder sat forward, cradling his heavy head in his fists. Laing noticed that he was ...
Page 25
... play of light across the neighbouring block four hundred yards away. The building had just been com- pleted, and by coincidence the first tenants were arriving on the very morning that the last had moved into his own block. A fur ...
... play of light across the neighbouring block four hundred yards away. The building had just been com- pleted, and by coincidence the first tenants were arriving on the very morning that the last had moved into his own block. A fur ...
Contents
13 | |
30 | |
Death of a Resident | 44 |
Up | 54 |
The Vertical City | 63 |
Danger in the Streets of the Sky | 74 |
Preparations for Departure | 85 |
The Predatory Birds | 98 |
Punitive Expeditions | 128 |
Towards the Summit | 137 |
Body Markings | 148 |
Final Triumph | 159 |
The Evenings Entertainment | 167 |
A Happy Arrangement | 174 |
The Lakeside Pavilion | 186 |
The Blood Garden | 194 |
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Common terms and phrases
10th floor 25th floor 37th floor Afghan hound afternoon air-conditioning Alice Alice’s Anne Anne’s Anthony Royal apartment block apartment building balcony barricade bedroom birds bottles broken callisthenics Charlotte chest chromium cine-camera climbed concourse concrete corridor Crosland darkness documentary dog’s door Eleanor Eleanor Powell electric eleva elevator lobby elevator shafts empty entrance everything face feet felt furniture garbage garbage-sacks glass guests gulls gynaecologist hand head Helen high-rise Hillman hour J.G. Ballard Jane kitchen knew Laing’s leaned leave light listened lower floors medical school ment moved neighbours night o’clock orthodontic Pangbourne parking-lot party penthouse penthouse apartment picked play pool realized residents Richard Wilder roof Royal’s sculpture-garden sense shopping mall shoulders silver pistol staircase stared Steele stepped stood studios supermarket swimming-pool television tenants There’s three floors top-floor trying voice waited walked walls wife women