A short but wide-ranging exploration of the appeal of the enigmatic genius David Lynch and what that appeal says about who we are

'Terrifically lucid and compact . . . an unassumingly intuitive and insightful brief history . . . will tell you more about [Lynch's] life and filmmaking than a thousand academic studies'

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.

Details

ISBN13: 9781399637312
Format: Hardback
Number of Pages: 128
Edition:
Publication Date: 17 Feb 2026
Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
Publication City, Country: London, United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 20.2(H)x13.6(L)x2(W)215
Weight (gm): 215

Author Biography

John Higgs is the author I HAVE AMERICA SURROUNDED, THE KLF, STRANGER THAN WE CAN IMAGINE, WATLING STREET, THE FUTURE STARTS HERE, WILLIAM BLAKE NOW, WILLIAM BLAKE VS THE WORLD and LOVE AND LET DIE. He lives in Brighton.

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 * THE SPECTATOR *
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 * RESIDENT, Books of the Year *
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 * SHORTLIST *
Reading John Higgs is like being shot with a diamond. Suddenly everything becomes terrifyingly clear * MOJO *
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