Physics student Franz M. hops a train and heads west, hoping to end up anywhere but the city.

(from The Best Short Stories of J.G. Ballard)

Up, down, east, west — the city must have an edge, right? I suppose this story could be called ominous, dark, dystopian, etc. I’d also add “kooky.” What a funny little nutball of a story. It has a surprise ending that solves nothing, an inconsistent narrator, a loony-tunes mood, a truly memorable existence where free space is the hottest commodity in an endless urban maze controlled by some kind of totalitarian authority. Yes. This is good.
Read it here.