Lynchian
The Spell of David Lynch
Failed to add items
Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.
Add to basket failed.
Please try again later
Add to wishlist failed.
Please try again later
Remove from wishlist failed.
Please try again later
Adding to library failed
Please try again
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Audible Standard 30-day free trial
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for £5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Lynchian
Narrated by:
John Higgs
Buy Now for £17.94
-
Narrated by:
-
John Higgs
-
By:
-
John Higgs
About this listen
PETER BRADSHAW, THE SPECTATOR
The loss of David Lynch in January 2025 produced an extraordinary outpouring of love and grief that revealed how deeply he mattered. But the strength and size of this reaction came as a surprise to many. In life, Lynch was a wilfully obtuse cult filmmaker who had been unable to get a film financed for the last two decades of his life. In death, both the man himself and his work are unquestionably in the pantheon of all-time greats.
He leaves behind an adjective, 'Lynchian', a term used to describe work that echoes his. And yet, only Lynch could be truly Lynchian, and those who copy him fail to have an impact. So why does his work affect people so deeply? Why do some find it haunting and unforgettable while others dismiss it as meaningless? Answering that question takes us into the strange realms of psychology, art and theology. We will discover why ambiguity and mystery are so seductive, how Lynch's creative and meditative practices overlapped and why a director whose work contains so much abuse of women has such a female-skewing fanbase.
Through a personal, first-person lens, Lynchian unpacks the mystery but refuses to solve the enigma of an artist whose work reshaped cinema from the inside out - where story gives way to dreams, and meaning lies not in answers, but in experience.©2025 John Higgs (P)2025 Orion Publishing Group Limited
Critic reviews
[A] terrifically lucid and compact study . . . an unassumingly intuitive and insightful brief history. You can read it in about an hour and it will tell you more about [Lynch's] life and filmmaking than a thousand interminable academic studies and PhD theses (Peter Bradshaw)
Higgs pulls back the red curtains on that most enigmatic of cultural figures and he does so with insight, passion and real care for his subject. A fitting tribute for a rare original
An excellent intro or refresher to the dreamworlds of the director. Higgs thoughtfully considers the auteur through a series of lenses . . . [It] will all leave you wanting to immediately watch or re-watch [Lynch's] films
Reading John Higgs is like being shot with a diamond. Suddenly everything becomes terrifyingly clear
A while ago I decided to read anything John Higgs writes. He seems to be able to take any subject and poke at it until it yields up its secrets (FRANK COTTRELL BOYCE)
I never met David Lynch, but like so many fans of who he was and what he did, I felt a much deeper and profound sadness at the news of his death earlier this year. It felt like the death of a friend or family member. Grieving is a personal and protracted experience, I found out about this book whilst feeling the need for something Lynchian. John's narration is such a wonderfully natural and warm read, it fits perfectly with the subject matter. It has helped a great deal with my sense of mourning over the death of my all-time favourite director. Thank you, John.
A wonderful tribute to a David Lynch
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.