David Lynch Books

Middleton, Shaw, Fortney and Lynch. If you haven't had the opportunity to attend a workshop that they are giving that should be a priority. If you can't fit it into your schedule or budget this book is the next best thing to working side by side with them. If you have had the opportunity, then American Vision will serve as an economical reinforcement of the lessons that they present in their workshops. The book is easy to read, and the photos...well they serve as a constant reminder that "anyone" can take good nature photographs.

Being a really late entrant to the Traveller universe this book is actually my first introduction to what the setting is like. That and I was too late to get a copy of "Behind the Claw" (the conventional setting for Traveller campaigns.)

The material devoted to the "Behind the Claw" sector hints at a highly contested section of space divided by three different human empires, plagued by the chaotic Vagrr corsairs as well as anyone devious enough to put together a pirate crew. Throw in a dash of political intrigue and you instantly want to play in that sector!

If "Rim of Fire" suffers anything it's that it isn't "Behind the Claw."

Indeed, the assumptions are quite the contrary. The Sol Sector is decidedly more developed and civilized, lacking the rough hewn frontier feel hinted at in "Behind the Claw." Nearly every system has decent port facilities and there's nothing for the Imperial Interstellar Scout Service to explore. (Buying a Starship should be NO problem what with nearly every starport housing a shipyard!)

What "Rim of Fire" does offer is an epic battle between two dominant races of Humaniti, the displaced Vilani and the descendents of the birth-world of the galaxy, Terra. Though the Confederation is definitely billed as the setting heavies, it's not hard to develop some sympathy, especially since the Imperial side is in some cases equally culpable for Sector unrest.

Also, the sector lies between the worlds of the Aslan and Hiver Empire, both whom provided added tension and potential.

The riddle of the Ancients doesn't seem to have quite the weight that it does in the original setting, and their artifacts and influence seem to be quite sparse, traded instead for worlds struggling with old resentments and a high degree of political intrigue.

And whatever you do, don't turn your back on the Vegans. Encompassed within the sector, this race of previously oppressed aliens has broken the shackles of slavery and technologically surpassed their neighbors. (It's a good thing they're so "friendly.")

By itself, "Rim of Fire" is a rather compelling setting. You're less likely to be attacked outright by pirates or aliens, but don't rule the possibility out! Cutting along the spinward side of the sector is a simmering interstellar border along which the Xth Interstellar War could break at any unsuspecting moment. Indeed the fires from the previous conflict are still smoldering on many worlds.

In essence, "Rim of Fire" offers an intriguing alternative setting for the Traveller universe without sacrificing too many of the conventions one would expect. There is plenty of room in this setting for being heroic or devious. And there are some rather quaint and interesting worlds to visit.

This is a fun read, if only for the attitude. On theory, the text is more than a bit light: Cinephiles after more heavy current philosophical grist should seek to grind elsewhere. Johnson's reliance on Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Freud and Sartre, et al., also indicate his modernist tendencies, which is, of course, in academia these days, still passé, if not taboo, though that doesn't make his argument irrelevant. It's sort of refreshing to lie back and let Johnson make his point, even if he reads, at times, like an old fashioned muckraker.

First, I'm not a Lynch fan, and second, not an academic, but my nephew is a Lynch fanatic, so I decided to buy him a book on Lynch for Christmas. (I am amazed at the iconographic industry devoted to Lynch products!) I was inclined to buy Pervert in the Pulpit for the cover art alone, but then I read the reviews and had to know what the controversy was all about. When the book arrived I started thumbing it out of curiosity. Then I couldn't put the book down. Now I'm watching Lynch's videos and following Johnson's analysis film by film. So far, I'm not just impressed with his argument, I'm convinced.

The reactions of readers to Pervert in the Pulpit say it all. Anyone interested in Lynch should be engaging this book, not dismissing it. Some reviewers call it liberal, others nihilist, some say it is completely wrong and others thoroughly convincing - the sure sign of a must read. I don't agree with all of it, but I cannot watch any of Lynch's films again without thinking of Johnson's argument. The way he frames Lynch's hyper-morality does indicate an ideology as Lynchian as the weird images and funky stories that have become Lynch's trademarks. Labels certainly can't contain or diminish Johnson's critique. Read this book, if just to argue with it.

Okay, I'm a fan, not a critic. I didn't read this entire book, just skimmed it after I got the basic gist of it. I'd suggest to any Lynch fan to try to get this from the library before buying it, which luckily I did, because you won't want to own it. This writer is convinced his theories are correct and everyone else, including David Lynch himself, are the ones misintepreting. One thing I know he gets wrong: he claims Lynch takes himself so seriously that there is no irony or humor in his work. Just because you don't get it, doesn't mean it isn't there, Lynch's unique sense of humor shows up in all his work. And to claim that the study of "good" and "evil" in dramatic fashion forwards a conservative agenda makes no sense to me whatsoever. I guess you either "get" Lynch or you don't, and this writer does not. The only thing I got out of reading it was to make note of the other writers he refers to who he says are all wrong.

I suppose each new micro-generation of film students must kill its father. However, this book is, sadly, boring. It is boring because it focuses on the content of the films, whereas what makes Lynch's films interesting and unconservative are their form (which has become increasingly anti-narrative) and visual qualities. Furthermore, most of his films clearly depict the deep well of misery beneath middle-class American values. It is true that there is something retro about Lynch, and specifically some of his moral scenarios remind me of old melodramas. Clearly, melodrama was a hugely conservative genre; its whole point was to tell women that any deviation from cookie-cutter domesticity would destroy them and their families.
However, melodrama is also a fascinating genre, and I don't think we should confuse Lynch's somewhat nostalgic (albeit questioning) quotation of melodrama and other forms of Americana for the thing itself.

"Mainstream" critics tend not to be very sophisticated about either film form or politics, so I am mystified why Johnson's conformity to mainstream critical opinion is regarded by some of the reviewers on this site as a selling point. I can only assume that Johnson's book succeeds in tapping into the anti-intellectualism of our culture, and THAT'S what I would call conservative.

This is an excellent examination of David Lynch's "Lost Highway". It is absolutely crucial that one approaches this text with some background on a) Jacques Lacan or b) postmodern philosophy, specifically, Derrida and Baudrillard. If you are familiar with both, that's even better. When I read this book, I had a solid understanding of postmodernism, but a fairly tenuous grasp on Lacanian psychoanalysis, most of which was from Zizek's own "Enjoy Your Symptom! Jacques Lacan in Hollywood and Out". The book was perfectly understandable and cogent throughout, if you excuse the occasional digression. Without an understanding of Lacan or postmodernism, this book is sure to be difficult and obscure as many of the previous reviewers will attest. It is, however, by no means unclear or impenetrable. Zizek is perfectly lucid, IF you have the proper background. Don't expect him to explain Lacan in a 48 page paperback.

As for Zizek's reading of Lost Highway, you will ultimately decide for yourself. I found it illuminating. Sure, the Jungian reading fits really well, but isn't that a bit too easy? Lynch is operating on so many levels simultaneously, so why would he tell a simple story of soul transmigration? The Jungian reading ignores Lynch's other works, such as "Mulholland Drive" and "Blue Velvet". When one examines Lynch's oeuvre, Zizek's analysis begins to make more and more sense.

There are a couple noteworthy issues. Lost Highway, at times, feels more like a pretext for Zizek to offer yet another example of Lacanian psychoanalytical technique rather than a book devoted to Lynch's film. Is this a problem? Not necessarily. It depends on what you're looking for. One reviewer alleges that Zizek mixes up certain diegetic elements (mostly names and places). I did not find this to be true. I've seen Lost Highway at least ten times and I didn't notice any errors. Finally, the book itself is extremely brief. If you're hoping for a really in-depth examination, you may be disappointed. Overall, I found the book to be a very enjoyable, entertaining, and informative read.

Probably the most hilarious interpretation of David Lynch ever written, and I'm pretty interested in wondering how Lynch himself would feel if he noticed that his art has been hijacked by the post-modern academic elite. Actually, Martha Notchimson's "Passion of David Lynch" probably got Lynch down better than any of his critics, but to reduce her interpretations to New Agism is really just an exemplification of fringe criticism's dread of Jungian thought in the first place - not that Lynch is a Jungian, but he is all about transcendental meditation and reincarnation, and his pictures seem to have a similar spiritual center and energy. Zizek is extremely intelligent, but ultimately he's fishing for minnows while sitting on a whale. If you interpret Lynch in regards to a system (Lacanian for instance) instead of humanity, you end up with what Lynch would probably call "phoney baloney".

Stand forewarned! Are you familiar with Lacanian psychoanalysis? If not, then what you are going to get out of this tome will be limited. Unfortunately, I think Zizek's exegesis of Lynch's film is one of the best and most interesting- so you may have to study up to get anything out of this...

For instance, Zizek talks frequently about The Real, The Imaginary, The Symbolic, The Fantasy, Transversing the Fantasy, Perversion, The Name of the Father, etc. If you don't know what these terms are, you will not be able to just "figure it out" on the fly, because even "pervert" and "fantasy" are being used in technical ways which are different from their popular uses. For instance, a "pervert" is not someone who is horny all the time (though they may be, but that's beside the point), they are people who went through the stage of "alientation" but did not fully complete "seperation," and therefore have to supplement their lack of a fully completed "symbolic castration" by a bolstered "Imaginary." When this Imaginary loses its cohesion and begins to fail, the subject resorts to other strategies such as fetishism, masochism, or sadism.

The point here is this is really a book for Lacanians, and not for people who are just interested in Lynch. If you are the latter, you will probably just going to get disgusted and frustrated because Zizek is assuming a basic knowledege in this field. That being said, Zizek is still one of the most entertaining and popular writers of Non-Essentialist Hegelian Lacanian Post-Marxism, and I found this book typical of his output.

To use a warfare simile (I am an American, after all), I would suggest that Zizek is less like a surgical strike, and more like a cluster bomb. In this book, which is forty odd pages, he only really writes about Lynch and the movie for a handful, talking about all kinds of other stuff as well, such as cyberspace, mexican soap operas, Spielberg, film Noir, Stalinism, Ideology, Totalitarianism. Zizek has mastered the art of the interesting digression like no other, except for perhaps Trstram Shandy from the Laurence Sterne novel. If you are familiar with Zizek, then you know the routine and probably love it- but for others wanting a clear and focused account of Lost Highway will be frustrated.

For a easier account of the same theory, watch the Zizek film The Pervert's Guide to Cinema where Zizek talks at length about Lynch and Lost Highway and gives an even clearer and more popular explanation of his idea(s). Its a great film and a good place to start with Zizek and even Lacanian psychoanalysis.

I have felt that sometimes Zizek's publishers (I am guessing it is his publishers), give his books misleading titles. For instance, the Zizek book Looking Awry: An Introduction to Jacques Lacan Using Popular Culture, I feel to be a terrible introduction to Lacan and Lacanian theory. Its a good book, but not as an intrduction to Lacan. Likewise with this book, I feel like Zizek just wrote a book which had a sizable chunk dedicated to Lynch and therefore they decided to name Lynch in the title. It is a bit misleading, but if you already read Zizek you won't care.

Really, the best thing about the book and Lacan's theory about the movie is how it makes clear a "part" of Lacanian theory, namely how "fantasy" functions. There is some other good stuff here which I have found really useful, such as a discussion of how "systems" usually function on two levels- an ego ideal level and a superego level, which mean that they simultaneously give contradictory "orders" and therefore the best way to bring a system down is to follow it to the letter of the law. I spent some time with a friend coming up with all kinds of examples and the model seems to work very well.

In any case, if you are a Zizek fan and a Lynch fan, check this out. Otherwise perhaps read The Impossible David Lynch by Todd McGowan which is also Lacanian but much clearer and more concise, and also film The Pervert's Guide to Cinema which can be bought online.

I'm a college graduate and I've been told I'm at least somewhat intelligent, but I have to admit I didn't get this book at all. I even did some research on Lacan and Zizek in hopes that would help, but I'm still lost. Better luck to anyone else, because this book did nothing to help me understand Lost Highway, Lynch, or Zizek. A waste of my time and money.

This is my first exposure to the work of Slavoj Zizek, but it probably will not be my last. Undeniably studied, Zizek is able to write with an unusual fusion of irreverent pop-cultural wit and stuffy intellectual jargon. That makes this breezy (43 page) study easy to read and profoundly deep at the same time. But don't mistake "profoundly deep" for "profoundly revealing" or "profoundly correct", as it is none of the above.

A self-proclaimed Lacanian, Zizek makes a case for an anti-Fruedian, anti-Jungian psychoanalytic interpretation of what is perhaps David Lynch's most obscure feature film since Eraserhead. As published on Amazon.com and elsewhere, I prefer a Jungian interpretation of Lost Highway, and for good reason: it fits extremely well. To deny this is to deny the evidence of one's own eyes.

All the same, Zizek's intellect is beyond dispute, and his reading of Lost Highway should be of great interest to film theorists and serious David Lynch fans alike.

I LOVE biology but this book was about as boring as a biology text can get.

This is a required textbook for my intorductory biology class. Well laid out, easy to read. Tone is sometimes too conversational, I have to really pay attention to the facts. I saved nearly twenty dollars buying at amazon rather than at the school bookstore.

I found this book to much easier to read and understand from all the previous textbooks assigned to biology courses. The graphics and tables and examples are completely explained. The format asks questions and answers them in a simple, easily understandable text -- not like the mumbo jumbo that a person would have to read over and over to finally understand its meaning.

There were many formatting errors in this book, such as the glossary columns being switched around-"G" doesn't belong in the middle of the "F" vocab. Some of the page #'s listed in the index were not correct. If you must use this book then you should know that the info can normally be found close to the page listed in the index. The figures/tables were very useful and restated the text in an organized manner, which helped the flow of the writing.

I'm reading this book a 2nd time now. I would say this book is im my top three Lynch books as well and it provides a very good outline, and possibly, a key, for the way Lynch thinks. If anything, it will help you come up with more of your own conclusions. From a devoted Lynch fan, this is a great read!

Is it possible for a good book of film criticism to be dominated by lavish photos and the like? Not in my experience. The closest to that is the BFI series, and those are hardly the sort of thing "a reader" is talking about. Of all the books on Lynch out there, this is probably my #3, behind Martha Nomchinson's amazing "Wild at Heart in Hollywood" and the essential "Lynch on Lynch."

The simataneous release of the paperback and hardcover editions should have clued "a reader" into the HC edition being a library edition... Don't let this person's stupidty put you off, this is one of the best books analyzing Lynch one can find.

I gotta agree with Critic-AL... too much ink is being spilled about Lynch that reads like retread po-mo theories. I'll go with Pervert in the Pulpit too, and I'm not alone. You don't have to be a film student or academic to appreciate Johnson's heady read ... still, I think the review of Pervert by David Lancaster in the latest issue of Film and History totally sums up my thinking: "There is a slightly malicious pleasure in seeing a modish reputation being debunked, especially when the reader was mystified by the fuss in the first place. Pervert in the Pulpit is not a crude hatchet job, however. Rather, it is clear-sighted and informed, and, in true Manichean fashion, on the side of the critical angels."

By calling Nochimson's book "amazing," [...]the problem with a lot of Lynch criticism: the audience for his films is divided between fans and serious students of cinema. As Lynch's reputation as an innovator continues to wear thin - face, it, his uneven oeuvre is not aging well - die-hard loyalists continue to gush about his, in my opnion, limited success as a cutting-edge film director. This book may be timely, but it isn't as interesting as Jeff Johnson's iconoclastic "Pervert in the Pulpit: Morality in the Work of David Lynch," which I'd recommend before any of the other, more pandering texts Joe cites.

I did not know this book is written in Spanish before ordering it.

as well as a very detailed analysis of his early art and ideas, only draw back, no "lost highway" chapter

Chion, who is a critic for Cahiers du cinema as well as an experimental composer, is the author of several exemplary works of film theory (including Voice in Cinema and a wonderful monograph on Kubrick's 2001; the one notable exception is his short book on Eyes Wide Shut, which is a bit of a stinker). Academics may not find his work theoretical enough, and lay audiences may find them too theoretical, but, for me, they are a perfect mixture of concrete analysis and speculation: one leads to the other and back again.
It is not surprising, considering Chion's interest in sound and sound/image relations (AudioVision is the title of one of his earliest books), that he would be drawn to the cinema of David Lynch. Lynch, of course, is known not only for collaborating on some of the music (writing lyrics for Angelo Badalamenti) but for designing his own sound mixes.
The first four sections cover, in roughly chronological order, all the films from Eraserhead to Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. The final section, "Lynch-Kit: From Alphabet to Word," is arranged around a series of Lynchian subjects/motifs, listed in alphabetical order, and is the highlight of the book. Chion's observations here are inspired (see, for example, his comments on Lynch's idiosyncratic use of reaction shots in "Reaction"). Although his books ends with Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, it is not hard to see how the Lynch-Kit could be extended to include everything which follows, and not by way of "explaining" them (and thereby containing the Lynchian universe) but by allowing them to resonate and continue to grow, to proliferate.
An excellent book, which, by the way,is neither a biography nor in Spanish!

I've always been fascinated by Lynch, and clearly is the author of this book. Chion understands and realizes the power of film. The problems with this book (which should not prevent you from buying it) are the fact that the book is translated from French (character names are misspelled in the process) and that Chion is sometimes too tough a critic (he is hard on Wild at Heart). Overall, one of the best books on Lynch I've read.

First off, I want to say I am a HUGE fan of David Lynch's films, and one of the many reasons I picked up this book.. What Mr. Stewart does here is take the full canon of Lynch films (from ERASERHEAD all the way through INLAND EMPIRE) and look for similarities and consistent thematic elements that tie into an entire director's work. I would imagine Mr. Lynch wouldn't disapprove of these interpretations (he probably wouldn't say anything!!), and even Mr. Stewart himself says at one point that we can all find our own interprations.. I appreciated the attention he gives to the TWIN PEAKS series, as well as the film TWIN PEAKS:FIRE WALK WITH ME, because I believe Lynch cared a great deal about the world he was creating there, and the imagery, and otherworldly characters started becoming commonplace in his films and almost expected after that (and no, I'm not forgetting ERASERHEAD!). This book is an interesting read for the Lynch fan looking for some answers to all those questions...

This is one of the most poorly written analytic books I've ever read. The author oversimplifies like crazy and collapses complicated devices (such as color in Lynch's films, for instance) into absurdly simple conclusions, i.e. Blue=Secrets.

If you want an illuminating and more complex study of Lynch's works, try Todd McGowan's excellent "The Impossible David Lynch," which uses Lacanian psychoanalysis to open up whole new layers of meaning in the films without ever feeling like empty theorization.

As a reader of Stewart's fiction books, I thought that his considerable writing talent could be successfully applied to other areas. This analysis of David Lynch's work confirms my belief. Lynch is a complex and somewhat secretive individual and Stewart has managed to make his work more understandable for us. Readers will appreciate the many insights Stewart has given us into what he calls Lynch's "puzzzle pieces".

This book is really different from what Rogers usually writes. This is a first combined writing with another author of the same genre. What I loved about this book was that it is one of the ballsiest workings of the printed word that I have read. What I hated was that I wanted to puke constantly while reading it. It is graphic-especially the second half-mostly just to shock and it lacks real artistic integrity. The first half is more poetic and dark-really enjoyable. I suggest this if you are tired James Pattersons descriptions of gore and really want to be violated literally.

on the surface, you may wonder what rogers and tamarin have in common with one another. to the untrained eye, it may appear as if two relatively obscure writers collaborated on a split book for the sake of collaborating on a split book, but, nay.

the one element these two fine lads have in common is that they command a response from the reader. while rogers invokes the lynchian muse to challenge your brain, tamarin puts the strength of your stomach to the test.

if they had included a third writer that infected you with the ebola virus, i'd consider it par for the course.

now, not to dissuade you, but 'my love affair with david lynch' is difficult, in much the same way as ben marcus' 'the age of wire and string' is. that is to say, it demands a significant amount of textual attention; it's more about purpose than plot. but if you're patient, rogers rewards you with a noble piece of stylistic avant-garde/experimentation. i can't immediately comment on the content, as i'm of the mind that it will take a few read-throughs before i can successfully do so. but rogers has impressed me in the past (most notably, his flash-fiction contributions to the surrealist journal 'bust down the door and eat all the chickens'), so he's earned my dedication to understanding his forays into the avant-garde.

'peachy like nietzsche...' is a whole different type of beast. pure, unadulterated (and i mean unadulterated!!) extremist literature. 'freek fiction', as tamarin labels it. now, i've stomached stokoe's 'cows' and ellis' 'american psycho', but these two cult "classicks" didn't prepare me for the content tamarin conjures. i've been raving about 'hurting my toys' since squirming through it. the plot isn't extravagant, but, my lord, the descriptive elements made me nauseous. i s@#t you not. physically ill. now, anything that evokes that type of visceral response is worthy of owning, i say. not to be outdone, there are some fantastic tales here ('little jimmy wanted a baseball' also comes to mind).

all in all, 4 stars due to some grammatical/editing mistakes (i know, i know, it sounds trivial, but it makes the english major in me grind my teeth).

so, reward your brain (rogers) and your stomach (tamarin) by buying this and do your part to support two talented and creative underground writers.

I wrote one half of this double novella and Jason Rogers, who is insane, wrote the other half. So is his writing. It's more a work of art in the form of words than it is a linear story. Either way, he is a lunatic and a terrorist of the written word, although my half of the book is better.

I had to give the book a rating to say this, so I am giving it a three because of my obvious bias

Jason Rogers and David L. Tamarin, My Love Affair with David Lynch and Peachy Like Nietzsche: Dark Clown Porn Snuff for Terrorists and Gore Fiends (Lulu, 2005)

A split novel? Hey, why not? Musicians have been putting out split albums for years. It's not a split novel, exactly. Rogers' half is a novella, Tamarin's a batch of short stories. But still, it's a split. All that's missing is the long track in the middle where the two bands-- erm, authors-- collaborate. That, however, may be a blessing in disguise.

We start with Rogers' novella My Love Affair with David Lynch. Which would be readable, except that (a) American postmodern avant-garde of this stripe died with Kathy Acker, (b) even Kathy Acker had stopped writing in it for years before she died, and (c) Rogers is not nearly the writer Kathy Acker was. He's not even the writer Bradley Lastname was. (Maybe on a par with Mark Amerika.) Whole pages are here for the sole purpose of filling space. Which would probably be okay, or at least better, if they were blank, or had that stupid "this page intentionally left blank" statement. But no; there is a page and a half early on here entirely filled with the letter s in italic. Bored yet? It gets worse-- every once in a while, Rogers interjects bits about his aims with the novel, how the reader won't understand it, and how it can be original despite the fact that Rogers was inspired by Lynch while writing it. This sort of thing didn't work for Joan Didion thirty years ago in Democracy, and, as Didion's recent National Book Award would seem to convey, Didion's a pretty good writer. Rogers, on the other hand, is not. I can't even find a way to put him in the "amusingly bad" category.

So, having struggled your way through the first half, you get to the work of David L. Tamarin. You are, I assume, hoping that the book will improve and provide you with some amusement, at least, for its rather exorbitant (given its length) cover price.

Um, no.

Tamarin's short stories are of the extreme-horror variety. Which is all well and good. I am a huge fan of extreme horror when it's done well; Edward Lee, Charlee Jacob, and Monica O'Rourke all do extreme horror very, very well, and I love their stuff. The difference between Tamarin and, say, O'Rourke is that O'Rourke understands that in order for a story, even a piece of "flash fiction," to work, there has to be some sort of character development; a story is going to fall flat if the reader doesn't care about the characters. (Amusingly, Rogers mentions this in his novella.) Tamarin, on the other hand, expends absolutely zero energy on building his characters; what few one can find that have any details penned in about them are quite literally generic; all have the same habits (specifically, the same crack habit, which leads to the crack pipe getting too hot to hold, and dropped) and the same mode of speaking. There is no way to tell one protagonist from another in the first-person stories. Which is not terribly surprising, as the voice doesn't change in the third-person stories, either. Tamarin, it seems, is not interested in giving us characters to care about; he's interested in taking cardboard cutouts (and some of the characters are too flimsy to even be called cardboard) and putting them into situations that might shock, offend, or titillate a reader. The problem is that when your characters aren't real, no one cares. Were one of Charlee Jacob's characters to have these things done to them, it would be devastating. (And, quite frankly, I'm somewhat surprised none have by now.) One cannot say the same here; what is supposed to shock, offend, and titillate us bores, or at best amuses for a few seconds.

Tamarin tells us, at least twice, that those reading this book should send him money so he can write full-time. It seems to me the money would be far better spent on a few classes on character development.

I cannot, in fact, come up with a single thing to recommend about this book. It gets half a star because I finished it, but the best thing I can say about it is that, because I picked this year to expose myself to the horror that is Janine Cross' Touched by Venom, this will not be the worst book I read this year. (half)

Cinematic auteur David Lynch, creator of some of the most vividly disturbing films, and Hollywood's most provocative surrealist, is also a prolific painter. His work is definitely unique, and served as a personal inspiration for my own beginnings in painting.

"Paintings and Drawings," a rare Japanese catalog of Lynch works on exhibition in Tokyo in 1991, can only be described as disappointing by me. As an avid Lynch enthusiast and owner of two other books showcasing his artistic abilities (the also-rare "Images" and the more recent and comprehensive "The Air Is On Fire"), I was a bit let down by the small size of this book. Roughly the size of your average hardcover novel, the book features reproductions of paintings that are generally too small to truly appreciate them in their full glory. While some of the paintings stand out fairly well, others don't fare as well, especially since Lynch's paintings are fairly dark in terms of color scheme. As a result, several images are eyestrains. On the plus side, some of these paintings are given close-up's on following pages, so some of the detail that eludes you can be picked up.

The majority of the book is comprised of these paintings and some of Lynch's photographs, with the remainder rounded out by essays. The essays are in Japanese, which is unfortunate for me as the translation booklet which was printed along with the book was not included in the used copy I purchased. I imagine having that would enhance the book's worth for me somewhat, and I can only hope that anyone who runs down a copy of this book finds this booklet enclosed.

As a Lynchian, this book is worth owning, and for anyone who is truly into Lynch and his art, you will want to own this. However, for more bang for your buck, I would recommend "Images" and especially "The Air Is On Fire," as they are far more comprehensive and are printed in a size that does the artist's vision justice.