Review by Booklist Review
First a critically acclaimed 2018 album, then a Broadway hit with the cast performing barefoot and wearing identical gray suits, next a performance documentary by Spike Lee, and now this book of musician and writer David Byrne's aspirational lyrics accompanied by Maira Kalman's drawings, American Utopia, like life itself, consists of small moments adding up to a gentle portrait of humanity. The optimist in Byrne believes the human race is "still a work in progress" with all the hope that that entails. His text features the names of towns and cities scattered across the U.S., from Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, to Selma, Alabama. Byrne also references some of his ongoing interests, including Dadaists, "to remind the world that there are people of independent minds--beyond war and nationalism--who live for different ideals." Like the Dadaists, Byrne often uses absurdity and humor to make sense of a chaotic world. With its themes of freedom, uncertainty, and inclusivity, American Utopia speaks to the present moment as Byrne calls for seeking common ground despite the world's miseries.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this frothy amuse-bouche of a book, snippets of Talking Heads frontman Byrne's lyrics jump and skip across pages, illustrated with watercolor sunniness by Kalman (My Favorite Things). Readers could get all the way through without realizing it's meant as a companion to Byrne's Broadway residency American Utopia, and though the theatrical performance is purported to carry a narrative throughline of sorts--or at least some side chatter by Byrne between musical numbers--there is not much of an apparent organizing principle to this collaborative volume. A strain of low-key optimism runs throughout ("I'm not alone / and we're all the same", "everything changes / everything stops / every day is a miracle") alongside the names of small towns ("Bullfrog, UT"), which is accentuated by Kalman's cheery, loopy, randomized drawings. Her figures dance with the oddly giddy abandon Byrne made famous in "Stop Making Sense" (she also illustrated his children's book, Stay Up Late). This bound-up collection of pretty marginalia is pleasant to leaf through, but more souvenir than standalone. (Oct.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
You may ask yourself, wasn't this the title of Talking Heads cofounder Byrne's 2018 album, his first solo effort in 14 years? It was, and it's also the title of a show he brought to Broadway last season, described by Rolling Stone as a "concert-theater-dance installation." The production features a number of songs from that album, some of his earlier hits, choreography by Annie-B Parson, a show curtain created by artist Kalman, and a multinational ensemble of musicians and backup singers led by the composer, songwriter, and singer, all of them barefoot and dressed in identical gray suits. This selection of Byrne's lyrics accompanied by Kalman's illustrations captures the spirit of the show. As readers page through the book and savor the words, the pictures fairly leap off the page. Byrne's afterword sums it up best: "Here is the hope and joy that I believe emanates from the show itself in something you can hold in your hands." VERDICT Whether or not readers are fans of Byrne, they'll enjoy this colorful and playful presentation.--Carolyn M. Mulac, Chicago
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
The companion volume to the author's acclaimed Broadway production of the same name. Conceived before the pandemic, Byrne's collaboration with New Yorker illustrator Kalman proceeds through a series of sparsely rendered full-color images about connection and how it feels to be together even when we are each alone. The author opens with what seems like a statement of purpose: "Despite all that has happened, despite all that is still happening, I think there is still possibility--we are still a work in progress. We're not fixed, our brains can change. Who we are thankfully extends beyond ourselves...to the connections between all of us." It's a slim, suggestive volume, with sparing use of words amid the stark imagery. At times, it feels like Byrne is channeling the aphoristic, sloganeering spirit of Truisms, the shifting-viewpoint series of maxims by conceptual artist Jenny Holzer. "I'm not alone and we're all the same, and the world won't end, it will just change its name," reads the accompaniment to two drawings of a woman who appears to be very much alone, dancing. "We're only tourists in this life," says another. Taken together, all of the text would likely fit on one page, and the sketches can be flipped through in a matter of minutes. The book is not a substitute for Byrne's music or the Broadway musical--which is scheduled to return in September and will soon become a documentary by Spike Lee--but it does share the same sense of artistic daring, naiveté, and childlike wonder. "Here is an area of great confusion / No more information now / This is my job," reads a simple haikulike passage that accompanies a series of seemingly unconnected drawings that proceed to the assurance, "It is safe right where you are." A comforting work of art in troubled times. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
