How does the singular, surrealist vision of J. G. Ballard emerge from the crucible of his early life in colonial Shanghai and the trauma of the Second World War? This memoir chronicles the author's formative years, detailing his upbringing in the International Settlement of Shanghai, his internment in the Lunghua Civilian Assembly Center, and his eventual migration to post-war Britain. Ballard employs his signature clinical detachment to dissect the intersection of personal memory and the broader, often violent, historical forces that shaped his psychological landscape and subsequent literary output.

This memoir is regarded as a vital key to understanding the recurring motifs of Ballard's fiction, offering a lucid, unsentimental look at the origins of his surrealist worldview. The text is widely praised for its precise, evocative prose and its ability to bridge the gap between personal history and the broader cultural shifts of the twentieth century.