--- title: "4 Sinister Quotes By J. G. Ballard" description: "4 Sinister quotes by J. G. Ballard. Plus more from J. G. Ballard and more Sinister sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/j-g-ballard-2711_20th-century_the-marriage-of-reason-and-nightmare-whi_392243.jpg" --- > [The marriage of reason and nightmare which has dominated the 20th century has given birth to an ever more ambiguous world. Across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/the-marriage-of-reason-and-nightmare-which-has-dominated-the-20th/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/j-g-ballard-2711_20th-century_the-marriage-of-reason-and-nightmare-whi_392243.jpg) > [Human beings today are surrounded by huge institutions we can never penetrate: the City, the banking system, political and advertising conglomerates, vast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/human-beings-today-are-surrounded-by-huge-institutions-we-can-never/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/977/j-g-ballard-2711_advertising_human-beings-today-are-surrounded-by-hug_1267579.jpg) > [Across the communication landscape move the specters of sinister technologies and the dreams that money can buy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/across-the-communication-landscape-move-the-specters-of-sinister/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/j-g-ballard-2711_communication_across-the-communication-landscape-move_2075337.jpg) > [Actually, the suburbs are far more sinister places than most city dwellers imagine. Their very blandness forces the imagination into new areas.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/actually-the-suburbs-are-far-more-sinister-places-than-most-city/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/j-g-ballard-2711_areas_actually-the-suburbs-are-far-more-sinist_2324580.jpg) ## Other authors on Sinister ## More by J. G. Ballard > [Science and technology multiply around us. To an increasing extent they dictate the languages in which we speak and think. Either we use those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/science-and-technology-multiply-around-us-to-an-increasing-extent/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [There are some people, who place enormous value on their home and feel that it defines them, that a stain on the carpet is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/there-are-some-people-who-place-enormous-value-on-their-home-and-feel/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [A reality that is electronic... Once everybody's got a computer terminal in their home, to satisfy all their needs, all the domestic needs, there'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/a-reality-that-is-electronic-once-everybody-s-got-a-computer-terminal/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [If you're against globalisation, it doesn't achieve much by sort of bombing the head offices of Shell or Nestle. You unsettle people much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/if-you-re-against-globalisation-it-doesn-t-achieve-much-by-sort-of/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [The suburbs dream of violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/the-suburbs-dream-of-violence/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [I made a very slatternly mother, notably unkeen on housework, unaware that homes need to be cleaned now and then, and too often to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-made-a-very-slatternly-mother-notably-unkeen-on-housework-unaware/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [I was in Shanghai when the Japanese invaded China. I was there in Shanghai when, the morning after Pearl Harbor, they seized Shanghai.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-was-in-shanghai-when-the-japanese-invaded-china-i-was-there-in/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Electronic aids, particularly domestic computers, will helpthe inner migration, the opting out of reality. Reality is no longer going to be the stuff out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/electronic-aids-particularly-domestic-computers-will-helpthe-inner/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Perhaps the future belongs to magic, and it's we women who control magic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/perhaps-the-future-belongs-to-magic-and-it-s-we-women-who-control/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Any fool can write a novel but it takes real genius to sell it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/any-fool-can-write-a-novel-but-it-takes-real-genius-to-sell-it/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [I work for three or four hours a day, in the late morning and early afternoon. Then I go out for a walk and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-work-for-three-or-four-hours-a-day-in-the-late-morning-and-early/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Even one's own home is a kind of anthology of advertisers, manufacturers, motifs and presentation techniques. There's nothing 'natural' about one's home these days.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/even-one-s-own-home-is-a-kind-of-anthology-of-advertisers/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [I was born in the city's general hospital on November 15, 1930, and we lived at 31 Amherst Avenue in the western suburbs. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-was-born-in-the-city-s-general-hospital-on-november-15-1930-and-we/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [I suspect that many of the great cultural shifts that prepare the way for political change are largely aesthetic. A Buick radiator grille is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-suspect-that-many-of-the-great-cultural-shifts-that-prepare-the-way/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Orwell's '1984' convinced me, rightly or wrongly, that Marxism was only a quantum leap away from tyranny. By contrast, Huxley's 'Brave New World' suggested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/orwell-s-1984-convinced-me-rightly-or-wrongly-that-marxism-was-only-a/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sinister/j-g-ballard/#itemlist", "name": "4 Sinister Quotes By J. G. Ballard", "numberOfItems": 4, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The marriage of reason and nightmare which has dominated the 20th century has given birth to an ever more ambiguous world. Across the communications landscape move the specters of sinister technologies and the dreams that money can buy. 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