As an earnest sixteen year old, a mentor of mine recommended a film “you’d like it James, it’s four hours long and nothing happens, it’s just people walking through the woods, no one says anything”. That turned out to be a factually inaccurate description of what turned out to be, not just a film I like, but perhaps a film I like more than any other: Stalker.

A friend, who has long known of my love for this film and who attended Stalker Night @ A E Harris in 2009, gave me a recently published book, by Geoff Dyer: Zona.

The experience of reading the book was similar to sitting at home watching the film on DVD in the company of an engaging, amusing friend who loves the film as much as me but has been bothered to find out a bit more about its making than I have. I enjoyed the experience hugely. So…

… if you’ve seen the film and enjoyed the film then I’d recommend you read the book. If you’ve not seen the film then I recommend you see the film then decide if you wish to read the book. If you choose to read the book before seeing the film then I am fascinated to hear how this works out.