''Empire of the Sun'' is a 1984 novel by English writer J. G. Ballard; it was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...

. Like Ballard's earlier short story "The Dead Time" (published in the anthology '' Myths of the Near Future''), it is essentially fiction but draws extensively on Ballard's experiences in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The name of the novel is derived from the etymology of the name for

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. Ballard later wrote of his experiences in China as a boy and the making of the film of the same name in his autobiography ''

Miracles of Life ''Miracles of Life'' is an autobiography written by British writer J. G. Ballard and published in 2008. Overview The book describes Ballard's childhood and early teenage years in Shanghai in the 1930s and the early 1940s, when the city is ravag ...

''.

Plot

The novel recounts the story of a young British boy, Jamie (“Jim”) Graham (named after Ballard's two first names, "James Graham"), who lives with his parents in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

. After the Pearl Harbor attack,

occupies the Shanghai International Settlement, and in the following chaos Jim becomes separated from his parents. He spends some time in abandoned mansions, living on remnants of packaged food. Having exhausted the food supplies, he decides to try to surrender to the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emper ...

. After many attempts, he finally succeeds and is interned in the

Lunghua Civilian Assembly Centre Lunghua Civil Assembly Centre was one of the internment camps eventually established by the Empire of Japan in Shanghai for European and American citizens, who had been resident under Japanese occupation since December 1941. Many had formerly li ...

. Although the Japanese are "officially" the enemies, Jim identifies partly with them, both because he adores the pilots with their splendid machines and because he feels that Lunghua is still a comparatively safer place for him. Towards the end of the war, with the Japanese army collapsing, the food supply runs short. Jim barely survives, with people around him starving to death. The camp prisoners are forced upon a march to Nantao, with many dying along the route. Jim then leaves the march and is saved from starvation by air drops from American bombers. Jim returns to Lunghua camp, soon returning to his pre-war residence with his parents.

Film adaptation

The book was adapted by

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and polit ...

in 1987. The screenplay was filmed by

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...

, to critical acclaim, being nominated for six Oscars and winning three

BAFTA awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

(for cinematography, music and sound). It starred a then 13-year-old

Christian Bale Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. He has received various accolades, includin ...

, as well as John Malkovich and

Miranda Richardson Miranda Jane Richardson (born 3 March 1958) is an English actress. She made her film debut playing Ruth Ellis in '' Dance with a Stranger'' (1985) and went on to receive Academy Award nominations for '' Damage'' (1992) and ''Tom & Viv'' (1994). ...

; it also featured an appearance by a 21-year-old Ben Stiller, in a dramatic role.

References

Sources

External links

Listen to J. G. Ballard discussing ''Empire of the Sun''
- a British Library recording.
''Empire of the Sun''
at the British Library's ''Discovering Literature: 20th Century'' website. {{Guardian Fiction Prize 1984 British novels British autobiographical novels British novels adapted into films British World War II prisoners of war Japan in non-Japanese culture Novels by J. G. Ballard Novels set during World War II Novels set in China Novels set in Shanghai Shanghai International Settlement Victor Gollancz Ltd books World War II civilian prisoners held by Japan