Room to Dream

It's no surprise that avante-garde filmmaker David Lynch's memoir/biography is far from ordinary. Lynch and his close friend, journalist Kristine McKenna, have compiled a multifaceted look at this singular talent. Lynch delivers his point of view in a slightly scratchy tenor. He sounds honest, amused, and friendly as he recounts moments from his childhood and later life that profoundly influenced his filmmaking. From his observations, we hear the young visionary emerging. McKenna's chapters offer a more traditional biography filled with facts. Her intelligent reading extracts rich details from candid interviews with Lynch's friends, family, ex-wives, ex-lovers, along with the agents, actors, and others who worked with him. Delving into his experiences with such films as ERASERHEAD, DUNE, BLUE VELVET, and more, Lynch's audiobook will surprise and sometimes confound but always fascinate. S.J.H. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

Starred review from July 30, 2018
Filmmaker Lynch and coauthor McKenna both contribute their voices to this wonderfully entertaining audiobook about Lynch’s life and his creative influences. The chapters alternate between first-person accounts from Lynch and more traditional biographical accounts written and read by McKenna. McKenna’s reading style is clear and unembellished. She reads her portion of the book, which paints Lynch as a visionary artist whose creative genius is guided by a mix of intuition and impulsiveness, in a detached journalistic manner. Lynch hems and haws, often riffing on topics discussed in McKenna’s chapters. His sections of the book are unpredictable yet strangely alluring as he moves breathlessly from one topic to the next. An anecdote about a meeting with comedian George Burns, for example, suddenly transforms into a discussion of the revival of Lynch’s hit show Twin Peaks. In another section, he muses on the talents of actor Richard Farnsworth and then veers off into the adverse effects of genetically modified corn. While Lynch’s sections no doubt steal the show, his entertaining style works in part because McKenna’s sections give the book direction. A Random House hardcover.