Cocaine Nights

Cocaine Nights
J. G. Ballard

James Lever

‘Snort up “Cocaine Nights”. It’s disorientating, deranging and knocks the work of other avant-garde writers into a hatted cock’ Will SelfFive people die in an unexplained house fire in the Spanish resort of Estrella de Mar, an exclusive enclave for the rich, retired British, centred on the thriving Club Nautico. The club manager, Frank Prentice, pleads guilty to charges of murder – yet not even the police believe him. When his Charles arrives to unravel the truth, he gradually discovers that behind the resort’s civilized façade flourishes a secret world of crime, drugs and illicit sex.At once an engrossing mystery and a novel of ideas, ‘Cocaine Nights’ is a stunningly original work, a vision of a society coming to terms with a life of almost unlimited leisure.This edition is part of a new commemorative series of Ballard’s works, featuring introductions from a number of his admirers (including Neil Gaiman, Zadie Smith, John Lanchester and Martin Amis) and brand-new cover designs.

Cocaine Nights

J. G. BALLARD

Copyright (#ulink_806c9fbe-ce20-5ba7-a456-d798c9ad8958)

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

Fourth Estate

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/)

First published in hardback in Great Britain by Flamingo 1996

Copyright © J. G. Ballard 1996

Introduction copyright © James Lever 2014

Interview copyright © Travis Elborough 2006

Cover by Stanley Donwood.

Photography by Medemea

J.G Ballard asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this e-book has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication

Source ISBN: 9780006550648

Ebook Edition © JUNE 2012 ISBN: 9780007378814

Version: 2016-10-10

Table of Contents

Cover (#uef64d11b-8062-5c48-927b-f221995eaa67)

Title Page (#ud05c0e19-679d-58ce-8d50-86f3bb863cdf)

Copyright (#uffe5ce21-1080-5310-b5c6-39341917e6e1)

Introduction by James Lever

1 Frontiers and Fatalities (#ub75d3fac-5e70-5cce-9663-bd623df8ce13)

2 The Fire at the Hollinger House (#uc4e369d6-2258-5503-bec2-31430cdc1c84)

3 The Tennis Machine (#u4defd9e5-fe9c-5dfd-8549-a23d9eeffbcc)

4 An Incident in the Car Park (#uf406d3e6-6b6a-57a5-9c44-37b8341d2f5a)

5 A Gathering of the Clan (#ud4411847-ed57-521e-93aa-c882e512cdcc)

6 Fraternal Refusals (#u975befc3-159b-535b-bd39-3dd191b3a375)

7 An Attack on the Balcony (#litres_trial_promo)

8 The Scent of Death (#litres_trial_promo)

9 The Inferno (#litres_trial_promo)

10 The Pornographic Film (#litres_trial_promo)

11 The Lady by the Pool (#litres_trial_promo)

12 A Game of Tease and Chase (#litres_trial_promo)

13 A View from the High Corniche (#litres_trial_promo)

14 A Pagan Rite (#litres_trial_promo)

15 The Cheerleader’s Cruise (#litres_trial_promo)

16 Criminals and Benefactors (#litres_trial_promo)

17 A Change of Heart (#litres_trial_promo)

18 Cocaine Nights (#litres_trial_promo)

19 The Costasol Complex (#litres_trial_promo)

20 A Quest for New Vices (#litres_trial_promo)