World on fire

Welt in Flammen , also Die Dürre (original title: The Burning World, new edition 1965 as The Drought ), is a science fiction novel published in 1964 by the British author JG Ballard .

German translations

• Welt in Flammen, German by Wulf H. Bergner, Ed .: Herbert W. Franke, Wolfgang Jeschke, Heyne, Munich 1968, ISBN 3-453-30488-8
• Die Dürre, German by Maria Gridling, Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1984, ISBN 3-518-37475-3

people

• Dr. Charles Ransom , physician at Mount Royal Hospital
• Richard Foster Lomax , Charles Ransom's neighbor, architect
• Quilter , son of Mrs. Quilter, Lomax's helper and confidante
• Mrs. Quilter , mother of Quilter
• Captain Tulloch , steamer captain
• Catherine Austen, daughter of the Mount Royal Zoo Director
• Philip Jordan , young recluse, day laborer, friend of Ransomware
• Reverend Howard Johnstone , Pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Larchmont
• Edward Gunn , owner of the hardware and boat fittings business, member of the city militia
• Matthew Grady , passing through
• Judith Ransom , policewoman, wife of Charles Ransom
• Captain Hendry , police officer, Judith Ransom's new partner
• Miranda Lomax , sister of Richard Foster Lomax
• Whitman , driver of a tanker truck
• Jonas , fisherman, father of Philip Jordan
• Saul , fisherman

• Sybil Johnstone, wife of Howard Johnestone
• Julia Johnstone , eldest daughter of Sybil and Howard Johnstone
• Vanessa Johnstone , daughter of Sybil and Howard Johnstone
• Frances Johnstone , daughter of Sybil and Howard Johnstone
• Herbert , settler by the sea
• Ethel , settler by the sea
• Jonathan Grady , pirate, Matthew Grady's son
• Cops , a gatekeeper for Johnstone Settlement

• Mister Jordan , Philips foster father, around 75 years old, blind

action

In an unspecified future, a global drought has persisted for five months. All of the world's oceans are covered by a wafer-thin but tough monomolecular layer of saturated polymers in long chains, up to 1,500 kilometers long . These are formed by industrial waste and other residues and prevent the water from evaporating. No technical or chemical process could be found to dissolve them.

1st chapter

Dr. Charles Ransom lives on a houseboat near Larchmont near Mount Royal. His friend Mrs. Quilter and her son live on a rotten boat - a gift from his neighbor Richard Foster Lomax. The drought, which lasts for spring and summer, has caused the water level to drop, and Lake Constant has shrunk from a lake almost fifty kilometers long to a series of small pools on which many dead fish and birds swim. Mount Royal is being evacuated. After the hospital was closed, Ransom postponed his departure until the major traffic jams to the south towards the coast cleared. He returns from a week-long stay on the former Lake Constant and visits Catherine Austen. When he fetches water from her, Philip Jordan docks at the houseboat. He has an oil-stuck swan on board his skiff . Ransom tries in vain to clean the swan with solvent. Ransom cannot comply with Jordan's request for clean water and soap; Because of the scarcity of water, one has to set priorities and save. Jordan rowed away and wanted to look for clean water himself.

2nd chapter

Ransom passes through the deserted city of Larchmont, covered in a thick layer of dust. Gardens have withered, swimming pools evaporated, garbage is everywhere. Reverend Howard Johnstone pulls up his car and takes Ransomware with him. Johnstone had had wells drilled, set up a city militia and called for the fight against the drought not to give up. Despite the flight of almost all parishioners, he is still determined to remain in Larchmont. Johnstone tells Ransom about last week's troubles. It is still possible for Ransom to say goodbye to Judith, the police rearguard has not yet left. Johnstone and Ransom drive to an escalating incident. Edward Gunn accuses a stranger of trying to steal water from the baptismal font. The stranger wanted the water for his family, with whom he has been traveling for a long time, and tries to pay off his debt with money. The Reverend refuses and sends him away. Ransom gives the stranger his address and tells him he can get water there. Ransom later reaches his home; its neighbor Lomax has a working fountain and a filled pool. Ransom's house is deserted, the food has gone bad, his wife Judith had viewed it as a functional apartment rather than a home for the past few years. Ransomware looks through the mail. The stranger appears and introduces himself as Matthew Grady. Ransom gives him water, and Grady advises him to leave. Captain Hendry and Judith both arrive in the patrol car. Hendry and Judith want to travel to the coast, Ransom stay a few more days. Judith divides the supplies, wishes Ransom the best of luck, and leaves with Hendry.

3rd chapter

Ransom watches the road bridge over the river and waits for the last inhabitants of the city to flee south. He strolls through the deserted streets of Larchmont, takes a makeshift raft over the pools of the former lake and the river. From a distance he sees Philip Jordan and Captain Tulloch's steamer. After a few days he attended Johnstone's sermon in the Presbyterian Church . The church is almost empty apart from a few families. A group of fishermen appear, follow the sermon and leave the church. When Ransom steps outside, the group is disappearing into the distance; he discovers a fish drawn in the dust on the ground. Quilter suddenly appears behind him and tells him that Lomax wants to see him. Ransom follows Quilter to Lomax and treats his ear, which has gotten water while bathing. Lomax inquires about recent developments in Mount Royal; he was too busy to notice anything. He asks Ransom why he hasn't left yet and offers to move in with him. Ransomware refuses. Lomax would like to get Ransom excited about a joint project, but has not yet revealed what it is about. Ransom suspects he wants to set fire to the city. When Ransom tries to leave, he meets Miranda Lomax - Richard Foster Lomax's sister; she invites him to stay. Ransomware refuses and eventually leaves. Outside, he talks to Whitman, the driver of the tanker truck who received the pool water as a gift for the Mount Royal Zoo from Lomax. He expressed the hope to be able to release the animals soon, because they loved parched landscapes.

4th chapter

Ransom takes the tanker to Mount Royal Zoo. After a drive through the almost completely deserted and devastated outskirts, they reach the zoo, where Ransom meets Catherine Austen, who feeds lions. Ransomware learns that Catherine wants to stay to care for the animals and gradually euthanize them when the food runs out. She would like to move into the zoo soon and therefore says goodbye to ransomware. But he advises her to leave the zoo soon, as he considers Whitman dangerous and Lomax calculating. Quilter shows up and eventually reveals to Ransom that Lomax hired him to follow Ransom. Ransom wishes Catherine and Quilter luck and leaves the zoo. On the way back, he has no water with him and wants to enter an open house, on the threshold he discovers a drawn fish again. Then he goes on. He notices that he is being followed by the fishermen who had turned up at the church earlier. So he finally runs through town with hooks, ends up in a dead end and is surrounded by the men and caught with a fishing net. He comes to in an old trawler. Later a tramp is locked up with him. Ransom is brought on deck and identifies himself as a doctor. Jonas, one of the fishermen, speaks of there should be another flowing river that they wanted to find. Ransom manages to escape, he is pursued by Saul and other fishermen, Quilter appears and helps Ransom to escape. They reach Philip Jordan on his boat and escape.

5th chapter

Once at home, Ransom wants to prepare his departure. He hears an explosion that seems to have taken place in the paint factory near the zoo. Lomax is throwing fireworks next door. Ransom sees Johnstone's men fire at the church portal, he sneaks closer and recognizes Saul. The church goes up in flames. Ransomware rescues the unconscious Jonas from inside the church. When the other fishermen return, he leaves Jonas behind and flees. During the night more explosions and gunfire can be heard from the city. Two houses across from Ransom's house are set on fire. Ransom only wakes up around noon and realizes that calm seems to have returned. The city is covered in smoke from many large fires. Johnstones family, Edward Gunn and men of the town militia and have decided to leave. You invite ransomware to come with you. He wants to pack, they wish Ransom luck and leave. Ransom meets Quilter, who is leading a cheetah on a chain. This tells him that Miss Miranda wants to speak to him. He meets her in the park of Lomax's house. She says, "Goodbye, I know you will be back soon." and disappears.

6th chapter

Ransom decides to take the houseboat towards the sea and look for a desert island to avoid the chaos on the streets. He finds his houseboat stuck in the dry mud three meters from the narrow fairway. He hears a starter and discovers Catherine Austen, who is at the wheel of her car, she wants to go back to the zoo out of concern for the animals. Ransom starts the car using another car's battery and they both drive off. Ransomware tries to convince Catherine to leave on the way. Suddenly they are stopped by Jonas, Saul and the Fischer group. They can escape by reversing, but the car has an accident and they continue to flee on foot. You reach the river and discover Philip Jordan on the other bank. The three want to drive further out of town. But Philip insists on getting his father first. In a lagoon they reach an immaculate ship that Philip claims to have built from different parts. On board they find a blind old man whom Philip introduces as his father. In a confidential conversation, he gives Ransom the choice to travel on without him. Ransom doesn't want to let Mister Jordan down. She leaves in the evening. On the way they see Captain Tulloch's steamer, which has got stuck in a sandbar, the ablaze city of Mount Royal and a lion roaming free. They reach Larchmont, where suddenly the drunken Mrs. Quilter appears, looking for her son and scolding Lomax and Miranda. The group goes through the burning city. Quilter appears, releases a trapped swan and joins the other.

7th chapter

By dawn they had already walked a few kilometers south, the city behind them is still burning. The old man is transported on a stretcher. They continued their journey with a working car found on the way. The path is increasingly lined with abandoned vehicles. Four hundred meters before the bridge, the path is blocked by these. The middle section of the bridge has been blown up. Later they find a new vehicle and continue on their way. When they reach the road to the sea, they see many people staring at the sea from their car roofs. On the coastal strip they discover a number of parked caravans, vehicles, wooden huts and tents. Navy and coast guard boats, to which long metal walkways lead, are anchored. Large distillation plants are in operation. Ransomware tries to organize water. He speaks to a couple, Herbert and his wife explain the situation to him. The beach is cordoned off by the military and police. The distillation plants produce water only slowly, and many people only have scarce supplies. The group finally continues along the coastal road and finds a less populated area on a canal. All but Philip and Mister Jordan walk towards the fence. You see a barrel of water being pushed through the barbed wire by two soldiers, a crowd expressing their displeasure and the barrel being destroyed. A man asks Ransom whether he has a gun and can use it. Ransom says yes. During the night, the fence was stormed by a group despite warning shots. Soldiers take up positions behind an opening in another inner fence. One man is shot, another wounded. A big mess arises. Ransomware recognizes Matthew Grady, who shoots ransomware. Ransom shoots Grady and later throws away his pistol. A group of people eventually reaches the sea. Ransom sees Philip Jordan and his foster father on the shore.

8th chapter

Ten years later: Salt that was dumped off the coast and then set in motion extends in a very wide strip over the former tidal flats. So-called water traps are operated two kilometers from the former coastline. Philip Jordan, known as Captain Jordan, is one of the trappers from the Johnstone Settlement who catch water and fish in artificial basins. Jonathan Grady and Charles Ransom are among the pirates who use paddles and canals to steal water from water traps. Water theft is considered a serious crime everywhere. A bitter dispute over the scarce resource has grown between the two parties. Ransom was injured in the face by Jordan with a paddle. The fuel for the distillation plants has to be recovered from vehicles with increasing difficulty. Ransom's cabin stands under the stern of a stranded lightship . Ransom can steal a small amount of water and fills it, along with the fish swimming in it, into its tank near the distillation plant . He has to give Grady a large share of that. For a while, Ransom had treated many patients, but with so many dying of malnutrition, it has since been considered a bad omen by the settlers . Judith Ransom lives with him; she left the settlement five years ago. She has had burns on one side of her face and a misshapen temple since an accident. Ransom herself had been ill for a while, during which time Judith had had to beg food for her. Judith and Ransom live together as a community of interests. Ransomware prepares a fish and reports that Jonathan Grady is planning to move into the settlement. Judith thinks this is impossible. Ransom had taken it as a warning that if it did, they would become adversaries. He also believes Grady is seeking revenge for his father's death. Ransom considers trying to get admission to the settlement even before Grady, which Judith considers daring. As Judith sleeps, Ransom leaves the hut and drives water from his tank in a pool to the east.

9th chapter

Ransom approaches a gate to the settlement. He continues to drive his pool of water in front of him. Ransom says he wants to visit Captain Hendry. The gatekeeper cop lets him pass for a few liters of water as a toll . Ransom drives its water into a basin in the settlement. Opposite Hendry, Ransom puts forward his request to want to join the settlement with Judith. Hendry refuses. Vanessa Johnstone wants to speak ransomware. He reports on his wish and the conversation with Hendry. Vanessa thinks it is impossible that he could live in the settlement.

10th chapter

Ransom watches from the tower of the lightship as Philip Jordan goes inland. He decides to follow him. His path leads past a pit in which valuable finds such as clothing, tires and seats are recovered from wrecked cars. Ransom arrives at Mrs. Quiliter's hut, who lives with Catherine Austen like mother and daughter. For five years the two lived miserably between wrecked cars, meanwhile Mrs. Quilter is hired as a fortune teller and seller of medicines. The two confirm that Philip Jordan stopped by half an hour ago. Ransom walks on and finds an observation point from which he sees Philip walking down a flight of stairs near the ruins of a villa. Ransom arrives at the spot and suspects that it is the grave of Philips' foster father. He calls for Philip and barely escapes a stone's throw. Ransom sees a lion behind Philip. He warns Philip, who is startled and drops a second stone. The lion flees. Ransomware concludes from the lion's long survival and rapid retreat that there must be water between Mount Royal and its location. Philip shows Ransom a garage with a perfectly maintained hearse, but his foster father's grave is in a cave above the sea. Ransom should start the car, it doesn't work. Philip is furious, sees his years of work as wasted and pushes the car a little until it slips off the jack. Ransom assures that they can make the 150 kilometers to Mount Royal on foot.

11th chapter

Catherine Austen, Mrs. Quilter, Philip Jordan and Ransom set out with a cart, spears, provisions and water for three weeks. Inland on the river bed they want to get to Mount Royal. Mrs. Quilter is sometimes pushed while sitting on the cart. The former river bed is lined with scrap metal that juts out of dust and sand like plants. Ransom is convinced that it will find an underground river or spring along the way, thanks to which the lion was able to survive. The others had wanted to do this expedition for two years. Mrs. Quilter wants to find her son, whom she still believes to be in Mount Royal. Ransom suspects that Philipp Jordan would like to see his foster father's houseboat again. They set up camp at an iron bridge on which a train is standing. At night they hear an animal howling in the distance. The next day, they continued to hike to discover that a fire had broken out where they had set up camp for the night and that this had spread to the entire train. You reach a small town, everything there is covered by a layer of sand. Ransom suddenly discovers Quilter's face between mannequins. The group suddenly notices that the city behind them is on fire. Philip suspects ransomware, who rejects the accusation, but willingly gives his matches to custody. After a further stretch, past ship hulls that are buried under sand, they come to the blasted road bridge. Ransom briefly sees a man disappearing into a dry tributary of the river.

12th chapter

After ten more days they arrive on the outskirts of Mount Royal. Again and again they hear the howling of an animal at night and see fire behind them during the day. The water supply is running out. The city is empty and covered by huge dunes. Philip doubts that anyone still lives there or that there is water there. Ransom, however, continues to believe and does not think the fires behind them are accidental. Suddenly they hear dogs barking and run towards the noise. Some dogs are busy with mannequins until a crack of the whip calls them over. Ransom sees movement behind a porthole in the old trawler on which he first observed Jonas. They discover Ransom's houseboat and discover that someone has already looted the secret tank under the galley. The group splits up. At Lomax's villa, Ransom believes he sees the mirage of a pool of water until a small white bird touches down on the surface of the pool. With Mrs. Quilter on her back, Ransom walks towards the water basin, behind them the houseboat and the cart suddenly burst into flames. When he reaches the water, Quilter is standing behind him. He wears stilts with sand shoes and is clad in panther skins and a swan's cap. Quilter rushes at Ransom, shoves him into the water, and hits him. Mrs. Quilter identifies herself and speaks to Quilter. When Ransom comes to, Mrs. Quilter speaks animatedly with her recovered son about the past few years.

13th chapter

Quilter leads the two of them to his home in Lomax's former villa, where Miranda Lomax is lying on a couch. She has floor length white hair and has put on a lot of weight. You learn that the reservoir is the entire supply. Although they did not bring their own water, they are invited to stay for a few days. Miranda reports that they can still find tin cans in the rubble. Philip Jordan and Catherine Austen hadn't mentioned Ransom to Quilter before, but believed they'd run into him sooner or later. Miranda thinks she can smell Whitman. Quilter and Miranda's three children come in, their heads are noticeably large. Whitman, one-eyed, his left hand amputated, suddenly arrives and announces that Catherine and Philip Jordan have walked upriver and would probably be caught by the lion at night. You hear someone talking to themselves outside. Whitman says it's Jonas. Whitman, his dogs, Quilter and Ransom go to Lomax and see Jonas walking through the lakeside ruins along the way. Whitman chases the dogs on Jonas, who catches them in a net and thus escapes. Ransom approaches a pavilion made of auto parts where Lomax is. Lomax reports that there is no water for a hundred miles, and he believes Quilter is trying to murder him. He tells how they pumped up the water supply from forgotten reservoirs that Lomax knew as an architect. Lomax says that Quilter is ungrateful and wants him to go away. Lomax cannot go anywhere else as Whitman with his dogs and the lions would be dangerous to him. Ransom rejects an alliance with Lomax, he wants to get by on his own.

14th chapter

Ransom stays near Quilter and Miranda Lomax to gather strength for his planned onward journey through the lake bed. He accompanies Whitman and Quilter into town foraging and at night hears Jonas roaring to the lions. Lomax throws fireworks and makes gongs and bells ring, which he used to keep people away from his reservoir. He scolds the others. Ransom plays with Quilter's oldest child, Lomax beats him surprisingly and tries to drive him away from his water. Whitman comes back from the dunes with a quilter, the dogs have encircled Jonas. The dogs tear themselves away and chase after Lomax, who fights back with firecrackers. Jonas can escape. Quilter pursues Lomax and is injured with a blade from his walking stick. Whitman and Quilter then run after Jonas and Ransom brings the child back to Miranda. Suddenly water flows into the dwelling. Lomax had opened the reservoir with a spade. Jonas, chased by the dogs, returns, Catherine Austen, who commands a lion with a whip, and Philip Jordan return. Whitman and Quilter corner Lomax among the ruins. Whitman kills Lomax with his bayonet , who falls into a shaft.

15th chapter

Mrs. Quilter has died and is buried in a car in the cemetery. Philip Jordan has gone to look for his father. Catherine is in the dunes with the white lion. During a nightly sandstorm , Ransom sees Jonas at the controls of Captain Tulloch's steamer. In the morning he says goodbye to Miranda and Quilter and, after a break, sets off from the ruins of his former home. Although the sun has not yet reached its highest level, he can no longer see his shadow. It is getting cooler and a black shadow rests on the dunes. Ransomware doesn't realize it's starting to rain.

Classification in the work of the author

In his first four novels The storm out of nowhere (The Wind from Nowhere), paradises of the sun ( The Drowned World ) world in flames , as the drought (The Burning World) , and Crystal World (The Crystal World) themed Ballard four various dystopias based on the four elements air, water, fire and earth.

Reviews

“Unlike The Storm from Nowhere , this novel is a full-fledged Ballard, complete with brilliant linguistic style, countless symbols and a stringent inner development of the characters and their relationships. As with Dante, the novel can be divided into Paradise (and Exodus), Purgatorio (Limbo) and Inferno. In the finale, after a circular development, there is a crisis, the violent consequences of which are decisive for Ransom's decision to go into the desert. "

- Michael Matzer, bücherwurm.org

With 1,963 reviews, the English-language original The Drought achieved 3.58 out of 5 stars on www.goodreads.com.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} James Graham Ballard: World in Flames . Ed .: Herbert W. Franke, Wolfgang Jeschke. Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 1964, ISBN 3-453-30488-8 .
2. ↑ Toby Litt: 1000 novels everyone must read: Science Fiction & Fantasy: Toby Litt on the best of JG Ballard . In: The Guardian . January 22, 2009, ISSN  0261-3077 ( theguardian.com [accessed May 18, 2020]).
3. ↑ Ballard, James Graham - Drought, The | Buchwurm.info. Accessed June 12, 2020 (German). 
4. ↑ The Drought. Retrieved June 12, 2020 .