The Day of Creation

In a desiccated central African landscape, Dr. Mallory, a disillusioned physician, dedicates himself to a fervent obsession: the creation of a 'third Nile' to rejuvenate the parched Sahara. His bizarre ambition seemingly manifests when a trickling stream appears on an airstrip, rapidly burgeoning into a formidable river. Convinced he has willed this new waterway into existence, Mallory embarks on an arduous quest to discover its source, claiming it as his own monumental creation. He is joined by an eclectic retinue: Noon, a silent and enigmatic adolescent girl with a past linked to guerrilla warfare; Professor Sanger, a jaded documentary filmmaker seeking a career revival; and Nora Warrer, a widow whose late husband's exotic menagerie now thrives uncannily in the land's newly fertile zones. As they journey deeper into the heart of this dreamlike Africa, Ballard weaves a metaphysical adventure that delves into the life-giving power of water, the dispassionate gaze of media, the corrosive nature of obsession, and the complexities of human connection, all painted with a hallucinatory brush reminiscent of Conrad.