Zona

Geoff Dyer, described by the Daily Telegraph as ‘possibly the best living writer in Britain’, takes on his biggest challenge yet: unlocking the film that has obsessed him all his adult life. Magnificently unpredictable and hilarious (and surely one of the most unusual books ever written about cinema), Zona takes the reader on an enthralling, thought-provoking journey.

The ostensible subject of Zona is the film Stalker, by the great Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky. As Dyer immerses us in the movie, it becomes apparent that Stalker is only the point of departure for a wonderfully digressive exploration of cinema, of how we understand our obsessions and of how we try to realise – and, discover – our deepest wishes.

Listen to Geoff Dyer discuss his new novel, Zona, on ABC Radio National’s Books and Arts Daily.

Praise for Zona:

‘Dyer’s writing is enviably paradoxical: intimate, jocular and completely unpretentious, yet clearly considered and surgically precise. Zona is a very quick read, and gives the impression of having been written just as quickly, but its balance and structure suggest that a great deal of time and thought belies the effect of immediacy. It’s exactly the way you’d write, if you could. It asks so many probing questions of itself, of its author and of you too that you’ll close its covers feeling as though you’ve developed a new appreciation for great art and a renewed desire to communicate that appreciation in ways that match the efforts of the artist.’

Canberra Times

‘Personal memoir, often light-hearted, merges with seemingly casual film criticism, digressions fanning out from the central narrative…For lovers of the dense texture of ideas, this is unlike any book you’ll read this year.’

Melbourne Review

‘This is the book that many Geoff Dyer fans have been hoping for…Zona is a genre-bending homage….by turns profound, grouchy, candid and witty….Dyer’s prose can be surgically precise but it is the charming looseness, that improvised air of friendly cleverness that makes his voice so distinctive…The book is funny and thoughtful on the difficulty of art. On the pleasures of art, and our souls’ responsiveness to it, it’s exhilarating.’

Sun Herald/Sunday Age

‘Fascinating.’

Weekend Press

‘If Tarkovsky is the great cinematic poet of slowness, then Dyer has done something remarkable: he has written a breezy, dexterous, funky and luminous book. He has transformed a cross-country marathon into something like a tennis match, played deftly between Life and Art.’

Metro Magazine (NZ)

‘Testifying to the greatness of an under appreciated work of art is the core purpose of criticism, and Dyer has delivered a loving example that’s executed with as much care and craft as he finds in his subject.’

Otago Daily Times