Exploring J.G. Ballard’s “Having a Wonderful Time”
It often surprises me how little serious critical attention has been directed towards the works of J.G. Ballard (1930-2009). A prime example of this oversight is his short story “Having a Wonderful Time.” Like many tales from the 1982 collection Myths of the Near Future, this story, conveyed through a series of postcards sent from the Canary Islands to England, presciently captures various aspects of twenty-first-century life long before the twentieth century concluded.
Summary
Written in 1978, “Having a Wonderful Time” is set in the not-so-distant future of 1985, just a year after Orwell’s infamous dystopian forecast. The plot unfolds as a woman named Diana sends a series of postcards to a close friend back in England while vacationing with her husband, Richard, in Las Palmas, on the island of Gran Canaria. Initially, the postcards are light-hearted and humorous, detailing their journey to the island and the experiences of their holiday.
However, as their two-week vacation comes to an unexpected conclusion, they learn that an issue with the flight’s computer system will delay their return to Gatwick. Day after day, the problem persists, and they find themselves trapped in an indefinite holiday. Although new flights continue to arrive, they are repeatedly informed that their return is postponed.
Diana fills her time by joining a local amateur dramatics group and participating in a production of The Importance of Being Earnest. Richard, on the other hand, rents a pedalo to explore the coastline, observing an overwhelming number of vacationers on the island and lamenting that the entire locale is being transformed into a series of holiday complexes or “human reserves.”
After more than four months in paradise, Richard shares a troubling theory with Diana: he believes Western European governments are colluding with the Spanish authorities to convert the Canaries into a permanent holiday camp for their “employables,” including both the management class and blue-collar workers. He warns that these governments cannot allow them to return home for fear of inciting revolutions. Diana dismisses his theory as absurd.
In a desperate bid for freedom, Richard attempts to establish a resistance group and steals a decrepit motorboat to sail towards Africa, ultimately washing ashore lifeless on a French beach. Meanwhile, Diana remains engaged in local theater productions, this time performing in Electra, a nod to the tragic works of both Sophocles and Euripides.
The final postcard, dated July 3rd, marks the one-year anniversary of Diana and Richard’s arrival on the island. While Diana maintains her cheerful demeanor and continues her theatrical pursuits, she begins to realize that her friend may also be stranded on the island. She comes to the unsettling conclusion that her postcards likely never reached their destination, instead accumulating in a sorting office behind the hotel.
Analysis
How might we delve into the layers of this story? It’s essential to consider the insights J.G. Ballard frequently shared during interviews throughout his career. These reflections have been meticulously compiled in a comprehensive collection titled Extreme Metaphors, which is indispensable reading for any admirer of Ballard’s work.
In various interviews, Ballard often discussed the concept of future totalitarianism, characterizing it as a “benign” form of dictatorship—one that operates more like a congenial waiter than the oppressive figures of Big Brother or Adolf Hitler. Another recurring theme in these interviews, which later novels like Super-Cannes (2000) explore on a broader scale, is the lifestyle of the leisure class living within gated communities and perpetual holiday resorts.
In “Having a Wonderful Time,” this reality is thrust upon Diana and Richard, yet only Richard perceives it as a form of totalitarianism. Diana, in contrast, embraces this new existence while simultaneously denying its true nature. Although she participates in amateur productions of classic plays, her life increasingly resembles that of the characters in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. She clings to the hope that “Godot” or “Gatwick” will arrive tomorrow, all the while facing disappointment day after day.
The title, “Having a Wonderful Time,” cleverly alludes to the commonplace phrase found on holiday postcards sent to loved ones back home. Much like the expression “wish you were here,” which poet Tony Harrison poignantly reinterpreted in one of his sonnets reflecting on childhood holidays, the phrase “having a wonderful time” transforms from a bland cliché into a grim irony. While Diana convinces herself of her enjoyable experience, the irony lies in the fact that her holiday has morphed into, in essence, a concentration camp.
Ballard’s vision of the future should not be interpreted as entirely serious; he employs exaggeration and humor to probe significant aspects of late twentieth-century society. A central concern he addresses—one familiar to the realm of science fiction—is the question of what society does when traditional jobs become obsolete due to automation or other advancements.
In this respect, the presence of factory workers is less shocking than the mention of the management class to which Richard belongs. As Western Europe transitions into a post-industrial society, many manufacturing jobs have shifted to countries like China and India. The landscape is increasingly dominated by white-collar positions.
Ballard’s narrative anticipates what the late David Graeber famously termed “bullshit jobs”—administrative roles often adorned with vague titles, lacking any clear purpose within an organization. While Ballard’s portrayal of a solution to mass unemployment may be comically extreme, he seems to foresee the rise of such positions in an ever-automating, post-industrial environment.
In a similar vein, “Having a Wonderful Time” echoes the themes explored in a memorable sketch by Armstrong and Miller, employing humor to address the challenges posed by a society transitioning to a post-work reality. The global lockdowns of 2020-2022 brought these concepts to the forefront, as many found themselves on furlough or “working” from home, entertaining the notion that this extended holiday could somehow become a permanent state of existence. Some individuals, much like Diana, embraced a life devoid of true purpose, navigating a world of superficial distractions and empty pleasures.