I have been captivated by the work of David Lynch since I first saw his movie, Eraserhead, back at a midnight showing in college. His ability to transport you beyond the seemingly ideal, perfect American landscape to a seething and sinister bleak anti-world through his work is amazing. I walked out of Eraserhead, and, a few years later, Blue Velvet feeling that the world around me had fundamentally changed in some way, that there was this mysterious energy in the air that I hadn’t noticed before. I have never looked at a dark abandoned factory landscape, a fire truck driving by with waving fire fighters or a dog biting at a spraying garden hose in the same way ever since.
So possessing a lifetime relationship with Lynch’s work, my Father’s Day gift of his new biography was a perfect choice by my kids. It’s the best type of format I’ve ever seen for a biography: his co-author McKenna puts together each chapter in chronological order, from childhood through his first break in being chosen to direct The Elephant Man, the epic failure of Dune to his creation of the magical land of coffee and donuts and a dead high school girl in Twin Peaks. She includes the details and interviews with all relevant people who interacted with him at each stage of his life. And then after each chapter, Lynch chimes in with his direct recollections of the chapter’s timeframe. This produces a unique dialog for Lynch with his own life: he reinforces many of the points made in the ‘regular’ biography, refutes some others and even admits to not remembering certain events at all! There is an honest quality to this biography as it shows both the good and bad of a man completely devoted to his art no matter what the cost.
There is an ‘aw shucks’, humble and ever-alluring quality to Lynch. He may seem like Jimmy Stewart, but that All American surface can’t conceal the fantastic connection he has to the well-spring of his work (which ranges from film to oil on canvas to music). He attributes much of his inspiration to his ongoing practice of Transcendental Meditation, but as a reader you can see his commitment to his art in the course of everyday life. This comes at a cost of course, ending several relationships in his life, not being the devoted father he feels that his father was to him. But it also harkens back to his early years where kids were kids and parents were parents, and there wasn’t much interaction on a daily basis. As you read the book you see ongoing themes emerge, and coffee and cigarettes and industrial music become touchstones of what Lynch adds to the world’s he creates.
This book was a Father’s Day gift and what a great gift it was! I could now put the book down as it’s pace and structure just got ahold of me and wouldn’t let go. So you have my ringing endorsement of Room to Dream, and I hope that Lynch continues to make art that challenges and inspires.
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