“The most stimulating book on a film in years.” David Thomson (author of The New Biographical Dictionary of Film), The New Republic
In Zona: A Book about a Film about a Journey to a Room Geoff Dyer delves into the mysteries of a film that has haunted him ever since he saw it thirty years ago: Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker, which is widely regarded as one of the greatest cinematic works of all time. (“Every single frame,” declared Cate Blanchett, “is burned into my retina.”)
As Dyer moves into the zone of Tarkovksy’s imagination, the film becomes an entry point for a radically original investigation of how art shapes the way we see the world – and how we make our way through it.
Zona takes the reader on an enthralling and thought-provoking journey. Like Stalker itself, it confronts the most mysterious and enduring questions of life and how to live. It fascinates from start to finish – even if you haven’t seen the film.
‘Few books about film feel like watching a film, but this one does. We sit with Dyer as he writes about Stalker, he captures its mystery and burnish, he prises it open and gets its glum majesty. As a result of this book, I know the film better, and care about Tarkovsky even more.’ Mark Cousins, author of The Story of Film
‘I loved this book. How can it possibly work – a book describing a film, more or less shot by shot? But it triumphantly does – i actually felt suspense, and revelation. And i’d never laugh at Stalker, but i did laugh all the way through this.’ Tessa Hadley, author of London Train
‘There is no contemporary writer I admire more than Dyer.’ David Shields, author of Reality Hunger
‘Magnificently unpredictable, frequently hilarious and, surely, one of the most unusual books ever written about cinema.’ GQ Magazine
First published by Canongate, UK, 2012; Pantheon, US, 2012.
Current paperback edition: US, Vintage.
(Information about translations will be added soon)
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