In Heaven, Everything is Fine: Fiction Inspired by David Lynch

by Cameron Pierce (Editor), Andrew Wayne Adams (Contributor), Kirsten Alene (Contributor)

For over thirty-five years, David Lynch has remained one of the weirdest, most challenging, and provocative filmmakers. From his early experimental films created as an art student in Philadelphia, to his foray into digital film with Inland Empire, Lynch's filmography is as diverse as it is influential.

Featuring Thomas Ligotti, John Skipp, David J (of Bauhaus), Ben Loory, Nick Mamatas, Amelia Gray, Kevin Sampsell, Blake Butler, and many others, In Heaven, Everything is Fine: Fiction Inspired by David Lynch is a tribute to one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.

“Finding Yourself as Someone Else” Matthew Revert
“Hadley” Ben Loory
“Where Walls Would Have” Blake Butler
“Imprinting” J. David Osborne
“Population: 2” Cody Goodfellow
“Nightbomb” Violet Levoit
“Friendship is Niceness and Is” Sam Pink
“Portents of Past Futures” Jeffrey Thomas
“Beast with Two Backs” Garrett Cook
“Lou Reed Sings ‘This Magic Moment’” Andrew Wayne Adams
“Zygote Notes on the Imminent Birth of a Feature Film as Yet Unformed” John Skipp
“A Love Song to Frank Booth” Edward Morris
“Girl From Iowa” Zack Wentz
“Blue Velvet Cake” Laura Lee Bahr
“Trembler” Kevin Sampsell
“A Model Made Out of Card or, The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences” Gabriel Blackwell
“Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” Blake Butler
“Hipster Hunter” Jeff Burk
“Miseryhead” Michael J Seidlinger
“First Movement” Suzanne Burns
“Lady of Arson” Janet Middleton
“The Class of Edun High” Matty Byloos
“Umbilicus Rex” Chris Kelso
“Inland Where Secrets Lie” Joseph S. Pulver, Sr.
“Lake Street MP” Johnson
“Gloria” Kirsten Alene
“Hot Dog (Bring Protection)” Kevin Sampsell
“Nubs” Jeremy C. Shipp
“Outlier” Jody Sollazzo
“Colne” Liam Davies
“Persistence Hunting” Jeremy Robert Johnson
“The Garage Door” Kris Saknussemm
“Night Films” Mike Kleine
“These are the Fables” Amelia Gray
“Sextape” Simon Logan
“The Drowsy Man Dreams” Nick Mamatas
“Teatro Grottesco” Thomas Ligotti
“Hinterkaifeck Again” Nick Antosca
“The Implied Horror of David Lynch” David J

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Bizarro Fiction, Anthologies, Weird Fiction, Literature

345 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Cameron Pierce is the author of eleven books, including the Wonderland Book Award-winning collection Lost in Cat Brain Land. His work has appeared in The Barcelona Review, Gray's Sporting Journal, Hobart, The Big Click, and Vol. I Brooklyn, and has been reviewed and featured on Comedy Central and The Guardian. He was also the author of the column Fishing and Beer, where he interviewed acclaimed angler Bill Dance and John Lurie of Fishing with John. Pierce is the head editor of Lazy Fascist Press and has edited three anthologies, including The Best Bizarro Fiction of the Decade. He lives with his wife in Astoria, Oregon.

Reviews

[Benni · Rating 3 out of 5]

This anthology would have benefited from more novella or novellette-sized stories. As it is, it's mostly short stories and flash fiction, and there are just so, so many of varying quality.

With a few exceptions, the original pieces truly inspired by Lynch read better than those that appropriate from Lynch--after all, Lynch does Lynch best.

Still, enough good material to be worth the read.

[Michael Seidlinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am in here somewhere.

[Gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished this a long long long time ago. The little I remember is:
+ Great intro to bizarro
+ As with any collection of bizarro, there is a vast diversity of styles and stories.
+ Lost Highway apparently is beloved by a huge chunk of folk.
+ Would recommend, though more for fans/explorers of bizarro and less for Lynch fans (there are easter eggs for Lynch fans, but don't go into the stories looking for Lynch).


I'll do my best to remember the thoughts from the first few stories and then to add thoughts after each additional story.

Finding Yourself as Someone Else Matthew Revert is the reason I got this collection (well, that and I love Lynch). My guess is this a a story that will reveal itself upon a later reread. Much like some of Revert's most powerful works, you have to be ready to hear what he's saying when you encounter it. I was not ready for this story.

Hadley A more straightforward trip through dream logic. This is what I was expecting from the book. Solid!

Where Walls Would Have Cautionary story, definitely in the bizarre set of things. Not sure where the Lynchian aspect comes in (too blunt for ambiguity, too straight a story, too ...?).

Imprinting Another story that I'll need to revisit to digest. Especially as the end reveals the imprinting has worked (and maybe been working so well, it's bled into the worklife?). Plays with Lynchian themes of doubles, dream logic, exploring the underside/emotional-side below the surface.

Population: 2 Fun story. Feels more at home in a Stephen King collection or maybe Harlan Ellison than Lynch, but enjoyable.

~ The editing of this collection is solid. Throwing pieces that feel more straight forward between the more abstract works is a great choice! Kudos to Mr. Pierce ~

Nightbomb and Friendship is Niceness and is No, these two are not the same story, but my reaction at the end of both of them is the same. Why can't I see this instead of read it? Both of them hide so much nuance between the lines with facial tics that the camera would capture (especially with Lynch directing); clearly revealing the depths behind contradictory lines or repetition. Due to the strangeness of both of these, I feel Nightbomb succeeds most in being concise; though FiNai may have the more satisfying conclusion.

Portents of Past Futures This feels like the best blending of Lynch and Bizarro so far. So many subtle callbacks (and not so subtle) to Lynchian tropes while playing in a space that uses the best Bizarro has to offer; most specifically the mixture of ambiguity and specificity of the final image ties the two styles together. (Yes, I know Lynch's works is a big influence of Bizarro in general ... but there's a lot more to the literary style than just Lynch).

Beast With Two Backs Feels grimier than an Lynch film ... yet plays with the dream logic incredibly well.

Lou Reed Sings ... I think I need to rewatch some Lynch because there's a strong diner theme in this book that I just don't get. It's a surface detail that comes from Twin Peaks and ... one other movie? The rest of this is a brilliant play on "Lost Highway" (the title references a key scene and the character names are the same). If you haven't watched that movie in a while, this story won't be as rewarding. A truely Lynch-inspired work written to honor Lynch's legacy.

Zygote Notes ... So far, THIS is the story that has truly captured what makes Lynch films so special. The empathy and care he puts into the world around him. The idea of love that comes from just opening up to the world and stories surrounding us and letting them bounce back and forth. Sure, there's Twin Peaks references in here, but this story is really an homage to the Lynch's Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity. Excellent!

A Love Song to Frank Booth If ever there was a story written specifically for this collection. Short enough to keep its power intact as Edward Morris explores Frank Booth from Jeffrey Beaumont's hiding place in the closet. And framing it as a "love song" truly encapsulates the horror and ambiguity of the movie "Blue Velvet".

Girl from Iowa A good story, but one that felt out of place. Almost more Hubert Selby Jr. than Lynch? That could just be me, though.

Blue Velvet Cake Definitely plays with the Lynchian trope of "what you see covers the darkness." Solid dream logic at play ... another read will emphasize the parallels of the two stories.

Trembler I feel like I'm missing the connection between a good chunk of these stories/excerpts and Lynch. Is it the industrial setting (train tracks) that brings the Lynchian vibe for these two pages? The weird person in the distance? Maybe I just have some seriously rose-tinted glasses on when watching Lynch; these feel too dark and grimy.

Model made of Card... AWESOME story narrated as non-fiction. Truly inspiring.

Twin Peaks... What was the genesis of Lynch/Frost's epic soap opera? This attempts to give "a weak dream in a hotel room" as the answer. Forgettable.

Hipster Hunter Leave it to Jeff Burk to take the nuttiness of Wild At Heart and blend his own silly sensibilities in. I can forgive the steps removed from Lynch this one is.

Miseryhead Someone really liked Mulholland Drive. Wish the story was up to that movie.

~ The thing about story collections is they will hit everyone differently. Especially a bizarro collection as varied as this one. Here I am halfway through and already I'm ready to highly recommend this collection to anyone interested in the genre. This is a fantastic introduction to many of the styles of bizarro - though this tends towards the serious - and even the less than stellar stories are interesting.

First Movement What happens when you mix Lynch, Shirley Jackson, and strong writing? This story. Lynchian in the barest sense (a dreamy quality, a series of wishes), more strongly Jackson. Suzanne Burns is someone I need to find more of!

~Time for quick hits. One sentence reviews since I fell behind!~

Lady of Arson Mistaken identity to play with hidden doubles.

Class of Edun High More Chris Val Allsburg than Lynch, but still lots of fun.

Umbilicis Rex Maybe better if seen instead of read?

Inland Where Secrets Lie What if Inland Empire was a short story instead of a 3 hour movie?

Lake Street Bizarro meets Lynchian doubles, but this time, it's not the narrator who shifts between identities ...

Gloria You have confused the real and the true; this plays with subtextual suburbia as fantasy amidst danger.

Hot Dog... Dream Logic story about trying to get somewhere on time, but where?

Nubs What happens if you love dolls more than people?

Outlier Sits in my memory as "The Devil's Rejects" meets the hobgoblins in "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina". Probably not though.

Colne A touch of the Mythos (Cthulhu), large glops of psychology, simmer with dread and serve in the mist.

Persistence Hunting You aren't ready for a second person POV short story like this, you silly reader you!

[Aimee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would totally give this 3 1/2 stars if it were an option. There were some really good stories, some that were just ok, and some were I was just reading words because I had no clue what was going on. I can’t really get invested in the latter, for obvious reasons. This is my first trek into bizarro fiction and I really appreciated the Lynch theme; there were some really nice tributes to his work in here. I will check out more bizarro fiction in time. As for these particular stories, I could probably use a reread on some of them in the future. I would recommend it to a Lynch fan though or to someone whose never read any bizarro. I feel like it was a nice installment to dip your toes in the genre. Thanks to my work pal for the borrow.

[Sara Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

totally a fun read. I really liked the Thomas ligotti story. lots of wonderful things to reminisce about in the weird world of Lynch.

[Lori · Rating 1 out of 5]

0 stars. RTC

[Jade Lopert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I originally bought this anthology for two reasons. One, I am borderline obsessed with everything David Lynch. Two, it had a story by Jeremy Robert Johnson. In simple terms, he's one of the most talented writers of the past ten years so his presence in an anthology is always a big selling point.

This was definitely a short story anthology, with everything good and bad that means. There's a wide variety of styles and subject that's always interesting to get. As is almost always the case, there are stronger stories and there are weaker stories. In this anthology in particular, the strong stories are very strong, but the weak stories are very weak.

I think the best offerings here (examples: Population: 2, Outlier, Persistence Hunting, Night Films) really take "Inspired by" to mean atmospherically similar to a Lynch film. The weaker offerings tended to be very literal on the writing in the Lynch universe that already exists, or about Lynch himself.

All in all, it ends up with 3 stars, because the reading is so even from amazing to subpar to average and all over the map. I definitely recommend it though as a way to see how these authors translate the Lynchian mythology and feel into their own universes.

[Matt Payne · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you've watched all of Lynch's movies and you need more weirdness, this is where you have to go. I'm surprised by the grace, style, and beauty of most of these stories.

These dreamlike tales pulled me into that indescribable world, showed me things that made no sense yet held deep meaning, and then left me alone, listening to the hiss of an empty record.

[Joseph Patchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

In lurid-lit.com you'll find a full review.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great collection of weird tales that are definitely reminiscent of David Lynch.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave up on this. There are some good stories but they are few and far between.

[Alexandre · Rating 3 out of 5]

duas coisas atraíram-me em particular para este livro: a capa, inicialmente, e a morte do david lynch, no início do ano

tenho que dizer que não sou o maior fã de antologias, mas aprecio um bom filme do lynch como qualquer pessoa sã (os meus favoritos são o lost highway, o mulholland drive e o elephant man), logo decidi dar uma vista de olhos

esta coletânea tem mais de 30 histórias, uma boa parte delas nem chega a 5 páginas. pessoalmente, subdivido-as em três categorias de ordem crescente: fanfiction lynchiana, ficção inspirada na obra do david lynch e ficção inspirada na atmosfera da obra do david lynch, conseguindo reproduzi-la tanto quanto as limitações da tinta no papel lhe permitem

a meu ver, as histórias que fazem com que valha a pena pegar nesta coletânea são: teatro grottesco, thomas ligotti (de longe a melhor); a model made out of card, or, the elephant man and other reminiscences, gabriel blackwell; where walls would have, blake butler; population: 2, cody goodfellow

no hay banda

[Cole · Rating 1 out of 5]

A lot of short stories, or even vignettes, that bear little to no relation to what Lynch tries to achieve with his films.

I found myself eye rolling a lot of the time and it's essentially authors playing at being 'random'; messing around with time, place and narrative in a really uninteresting way.

[Luke]

Not for me, more so a gift idea for Ry

[Collin Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

You've got your good things... And I've got mine.

David Lynch is a man who has concerned himself with things such as childbirth, parental anxiety, hardened criminals, the negative effects of industrialism, the dark underside of Hollywood, love as viewed through the eyes of someone who has lost it, music, the death of one person in a small town and its following effects, the magical wonders of coffee, what is reality and what is dreams, insanity, and, amongst other things and perhaps most scary of all, Nic Cage's acting abilities.

As a big fan of Lynch and his wonderful, weird, scary, and beautiful way of looking at the world and telling stories, I saw the title for this anthology (which comes from a song in his debut feature Eraserhead) and instantly knew I had to read it. And much like all of the subjects he himself has covered, this book is filled with stories that tackle everything from isolation to sexuality, hatred to love. And much like his work, most of this is great, but there are a few missteps along the way.

After reading the absolutely hilarious foreword by Bradley Sands, I plunged in and read each story in order and found that there are three types of stories in this book. The first is a story that apes elements of Lynch and winds up feeling dull and uninspired because of it (stories such as "Lou Reed Sings 'This Magic Moment,'"which reads as Lost Highway fan fiction, and "Inland Where Secrets Lie," which is the literary equivalent of watching Inland Empire, my least favorite Lynch film I've seen). These honestly could have been removed and not much would have been lost. Thankfully, these types of stories aren't terribly abundant.

The second kind of story is the one that uses elements or motifs of Lynch to their advantage (things like owls, character names, a shit ton of blue velvet and red curtains, etc.). These include stories such as Laura Lee Bahr's "Blue Velvet Cake" which blends the past and present, much like Lynch often does, but does so in a way that tells a unique story of hatred and resentment. Another good example of this is "Sextape" by Simon Logan, a story of a woman who is told to sell a sex tape that turns her world upside down (this is one of my favorites as it feels like a mixture of Lost Highway and Mullholland Drive, in its own nightmarish way).

The last kind of story is one that feels like something Lynch might have made, but does its own thing entirely. This includes Jeremy Robert Johnson's incredible "Persistence Hunting" (which was one of the best stories in his awesome collection We Live Inside you and is one of the best in this one as well), which is a classic noir tale through and through. Then there are the more outlandish ones, like Cody Goodfellow's "Population: 2" which honestly feels like an X rated Twilight Zone episode in a really good way, and Kirsten Alene's "Gloria," easily one of the most fucked up and weird pieces of fiction I've read in a while, solely because of the ending. Then there's Lake Street by MP Johnson, which is... tough to describe and impossible to forget, again because of the ending.

Point being, the good outweighs the bad in this anthology. While there are only a handful of truly great stories in here (my favorites being the aforementioned "Persistence Hunting," "Sextape," and "Blue Velvet Cake," and "Gloria," along with David J. Osborne's "Imprinting," and Jeffrey Thomas's "Portents of Past Futures"). A lot of them are pretty confusing and vague, but most are worth reading even if you don't understand them entirely or they don't wow you. In other words, this anthology reflects Lynch's own career pretty well, with everything that implies.

Side note: My favorite film by Lynch is Lost Highway, followed very closely by Eraserhead and Twin Peaks is easily in my top five TV shows ever made.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some coffee to drink and donuts to eat.

[Fabrizio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a huge Lynch fan, I received this book as a gift, and I wasn't disappointed. Overall, the stories are very much in the vain of Lynch.

[Adam Rodenberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This ain't your super easy beach reading material...and that's a good thing considering the stories are inspired by legendary filmmaker David Lynch.

These 39 stories range from the fairly normal to the out and out persona-swapping mid-scene. If you're not a fan of Lynch's films or a fair number of the authors included in this collection already, this one might be a hard sell for you. The majority of the stories aren't quick reads and require more than a simple one-time reading.

Some personal favorites/standouts in the collection:

"Finding Yourself as Someone Else" by Matthew Revert
"Hadley" by Ben Loory
"Imprinting" by J. David Osborne
"Population:2" by Cody Goodfellow
"Portents of Past Futures" by Jeffrey Thomas
"Lou Reed Sings 'This Magic Moment'" by Andrew Wayne Adams
"Blue Velvet Cake" by Laura Lee Bahr
"The Class of Edun High" by Matty Byloos
"Gloria" by Kirsten Alene
"Nubs" by Jeremy C. Shipp
"Persistence Hunting" by Jeremy Robert Johnson

[Ian Welke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be very hit or miss, even more so than most anthologies, but then that seemed very appropriate for being based on David Lynch. Much like Lynch, when the stories were prioritizing storytelling over the weirdness, I really liked them and appreciated the weirdness in them all the more. But also like a couple of Lynch's films there were some stories that were just weird without giving me a base to work with as a reader.

3.5 stars, rounded up because the good stories are worth the price of the book.

[Tomsk · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few gems. A lot of rough. As others have said the best stuff here tends to be the written by the authors who take inspiration from Lynch’s work rather than mimic it.
Also made me realise just how differently we all perceive Lynch material.