Bjork [Paperback]

Unfortunately the book doesn't live up to those standards. I would have liked to see a bit more work, the non-gloss paper makes it hard for the photos to stand out quite the way they should and there simply isn't enough of Bjork herself in there. It is, in the end a small collection of other peoples works.

The only time you hear from Bjork directly is as interviewer of David Attenborough, which itself talks about their reactions and thoughts to other things, not themselves. It feels like Bjork is hiding behind other peoples ideas and giving as little of herself as possible. Does she hope to lend her inspiration, but keep herself protected?

The photos are a mix of works, from the A. fantastical (unearthly, inhuman, godlike) to the B. typical (Bjork looking pretty and quirky), to the C. real (Bjork the real person you might meet in the street) In my mind theres too much of B. and not enough of A. and C. We don't find out what inspired these works, what is it about Bjork that made these photos unique and worth collecting into this book. The fashions in particular are something i would have liked to learn more about.

The idea to give each image its own page and put the artists name on the back of the page is a little frustrating, you can't help feel you're getting half of what could have been included in the book. Nor am i convinced they only picked the best of the bunch, many of my favourites have been left out, while others that have been published many times were included. Of course, there will always be disagreement of what should and should not have been kept, but perhaps if the collection had been larger then i would not have been as disappointed.

The text is all worth reading, yet again i wish for more from Bjork, it is her book after all, though she seems content to let others speak for her. Rankin's essay is a good read and the many stories are interesting. But i'd trade it all (as would any Bjork fan) for a peek into Bjork's scrapbook of ideas.

I'd hope this book was part of a growing series, Bjork is surely not done yet and many more things worth seeing are sure to come. This book certainly doesn't feel very comprehensive, i don't feel much closer to Bjork and her ideas, or the ideas of the many artists that contributed.

in short, worth having, but only just. The book falls short of what should have been a luscious adventure that filled the senses (the way her music does). ...

To top it all off, a load of crud was yanked from the internet (including a very outdated survey) and thrown at the end of this book.

I was expecting so much more.

Bjork is amazing, talented, insightful, and beautiful. This book is not. You'd be better off going to any Bjork website. It'll have a lot more content than this book offers.