Lazarus: The Complete Book and Lyrics

by David Bowie, Enda Walsh

'I'm a dying man who can't die.'

Thomas Newton came to Earth seeking water for his drought-ridden planet. Years later he's still stranded here, soaked in cheap gin and haunted by a past love. But the arrival of another lost soul brings one last chance of freedom...

Inspired by the book The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis and its cult film adaptation starring David Bowie, Lazarus brings the story of Thomas Newton to its devastating conclusion.

Written by Bowie with the playwright Enda Walsh, and incorporating some of Bowie's most iconic songs, Lazarus was first performed at New York Theatre Workshop in 2015, starring Michael C. Hall and directed by Ivo Van Hove. The production transferred to London in 2016.

‘Ice-bolts of ecstasy shoot like novas through the fabulous muddle and murk of Lazarus, the great-sounding, great-looking and mind-numbing new musical built around songs by David Bowie’
- Ben Brantley New York Times

‘Wild, fantastical, eye-popping. A surrealistic tour de force’ - Rolling Stone

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'I'm a dying man who can't die.'

Thomas Newton came to Earth seeking water for his drought-ridden planet. Years later he's still stranded here, soaked in cheap gin and haunted by a past love. But the arrival of another lost soul brings one last chance of freedom...

Inspired by the book The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis and its cult film adaptation starring David Bowie, Lazarus brings the story of Thomas Newton to its devastating conclusion.

Written by Bowie with the playwright Enda Walsh, and incorporating some of Bowie's most iconic songs, Lazarus was first performed at New York Theatre Workshop in 2015, starring Michael C. Hall and directed by Ivo Van Hove. The production transferred to London in 2016.

‘Ice-bolts of ecstasy shoot like novas through the fabulous muddle and murk of Lazarus, the great-sounding, great-looking and mind-numbing new musical built around songs by David Bowie’
- Ben Brantley New York Times

‘Wild, fantastical, eye-popping. A surrealistic tour de force’ - Rolling Stone

Genres: Plays, Music, Fiction, Science Fiction, Drama, Mental Health, Fantasy

102 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

David Bowie (born David Robert Jones) was an English singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, producer, arranger, and audio engineer. Active in five decades of rock music and frequently reinventing his music and image, Bowie was widely regarded as an influential innovator, particularly for his work through the 1970s. Bowie has taken cues from a wide range of fine art, philosophy and literature. He was also a film and stage actor, music video director, and visual artist.

Reviews

[Vanessa (V.C.) · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who saw the original New York Theatre Workshop show before David Bowie's passing, my connection to this play will differ from those who're reading this coldly without having seen the play at all, and especially if they haven't watched The Man Who Fell To Earth, or read the book.

Do you have to have seen the play first before reading this? Not necessarily. Should you watch The Man Who Fell To Earth before reading this? Yes, because since this is a sequel, that's a must.

So with all that being said, there's another thing to keep in mind with Lazarus as a play in general: it's not perfect. It almost feels unfinished. It doesn't quite work on its own, with a lot of characters that aren't developed when they should be, with not much of a plot to begin with, and with the songs not all exactly quite fitting in with the context of the events surrounding it. For that reason, the mixed reviews are indeed understandable, but what does work is this: it's one of David Bowie's last parting gifts to us, and it's perfect just the way it is as a testament to one man's talent and one man's final dream fully realized, that he was thankfully alive to be able to see come into fruition and to see in person before his untimely death. It also works as existential theatre at its finest. It's not meant to have any real plot to it, not meant to really give us answers to anything. Only questions, questions that will only make us think as well as feel and ultimately love. That's why I wouldn't recommend anyone taking the play too literally or trying to figure out what it all means. It's a play about questioning the meaning of identity, life, love, and death. Even the songs are more or less a glimpse into an alien who is a man who cannot die, an interior dialogue into the mind of Thomas Jerome Newton, told in song. On paper, the play doesn't quite come to life as much as it does in person. The play is very visual, utilizing pretty fascinating special effects that unfortunately and obviously here, it's not there, and it also demands a lot from the actors physically, and surprisingly all this is not even described.

So if one were to read this coldly, it will understandably turn one off from reading it, and/or from wanting to see it. But one should see this play, because it's something more special and very memorable in person. Unfortunately, Lazarus doesn't translate well in print, admittedly. But I still read through it in one sitting, but it helps that I saw the play first with everything about it still so fresh in my head a year since I've seen it. I loved that they included the lyrics of all the songs in this play; that was fun to read, especially with the three new Bowie tracks "No Plan," "Killing A Little Time," and "When I Met You." Maybe that alone is partly why one should own a copy of this play, but I'd say this is also a must-have for fans of the play, if they saw it in person. Or if one just wants this because they're a Bowie fan, to have it as just one other thing as part of their Bowie collection, it's great for that too. Love the play or hate it, though, one thing's for sure: it may not be a play that will stand the test of time, but like the Starman himself, for all who were so lucky to have seen this, it will remain with us, and while we may never have a DVD of Lazarus, at least we have this, and that definitely counts for something.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

what an odd, dreamy fantasy Bowie created. I miss him.

[Molly Likovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

God I love this play.

[Brody Hornaday · Rating 5 out of 5]

All. Time. Favorite. Musical.

[Garrett Zecker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the past few months, after being given a new novel about Bowie’s life to review for The Collidescope (at which a portion of this post was published a few weeks ago, “Freedom in the Realms of Eccentricity“), I dove headfirst back into the world of one of my favorite artists of all time. David Bowie left us seven years ago, leaving us with Blackstar and Lazarus – two works of art that were clearly meant to be his swan song. His memory is as fresh as it’s always been, however. In the few thousand words that follow, explore with me what I have watched and read, and reflect on the life of a man that his fandom holds so dear. In film, in text, in sonic explosion, a great man jumped into great works and words that hold a mirror to our lives, whether we were ready to see or not, that couldn’t be polished by anyone else.

Walter Tevis’ THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH is an exploratory novel that first creates the enigmatic, alien character of Thomas Jerome Newton. It is an interesting allegory that is at the uniquely American identity: otherness, the American Dream, consumerism, alcoholism, the inability to truly know another person, and our obsession with controlling others even when it is apparent through the thinnest veneer that it is unhealthy and damaging to them, money, family, and so much more.

The novel follows Newton through his time on Earth, one that begins with a last-ditch effort to save his planet and family by harvesting water or finding a new place for them to live after a war that happened some time ago… On Earth, Newton finds his existence to be relatively easy free from the demands of money and power. But what happens to a man without a care in the world for earthly necessities as he becomes wrapped up in the spectacle of what essentially makes us American – and human. The carefree days devolve into studying us as a species, as he is a self-admitted expert in the field of Earth scholarship, but he can finally tune in (no pun intended) to the sexual, psychoaddictive stimuli we surround ourselves with and equally distract us from the true avenues and paths we want to walk. To Newton, money is no object, throwing it at failing spaceships and passion projects in which he has little emotional investment much like Elon Musk. He recognizes the futility of building such an empire; all that’s left is the sensory. Of course, the government gets interested, and it turns out no one understands him whatsoever; everyone is willing to go to some brutal lengths to try to figure him out with disastrous effects. And he languishes here, unable to die, knowing his family and home planet are dead. All that’s left are empty bottles and his humanoid suit stuck to him forever because we never asked and didn’t care what he said.

It is a beautiful book, and while Tevis wasn’t around to give us much more than six novels and perhaps four times as many short stories, his work has a magnetism and energy that have all leant themselves to what seem to be endless adaptations in film and music. His work is deeply personal, deeply human, and incredibly structured around the same general motifs. While the stories take other forms throughout his career, the understanding that perhaps we weren’t meant to live the lives we do has never seemed more relevant than they do now.

I hope his work becomes antiquated at some point, only because I wish life wasn’t this way. The Man Who Fell To Earth is easily a parable for the ways in which society truly shackles us to the normalcy and conventions of the past – a past that used these same conventions to manipulate and control the masses but is now a relic of a system of social expectations deeply rooted in oppression for all but the powerful who reap the benefits of it. The Man Who Fell To Earth evoked a great familiarity in me, one of a series of interactions that seem to be entirely based on the need to conform when conformity leads to control and needless lonely suffering. This is ultimately a novel of loneliness and coping with the differences between internal wants and needs when the external life doesn’t compromise. Perpetuating it leads to self-destruction, whether it is apparent or not, and we all lose sight of what was important to us all along, since childhood. The core of who and what we are, as alien to others as it may be. As a semi-pulp author whose books sold hundreds of thousands of copies, Tevis’ work doesn’t impress in its volume or vociferousness but spellbinds in its structure, humanity, and tragedy.

“Age doesn’t bother me. So many of my heroes were older guys. It’s the lack of years left that weighs far heavier on me than the age that I am.”

Nicholas Roeg’s THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH, Criterion spine number 304 and number 629 on 1001 Films To See Before You Die, is the film adaptation of Tevis’ novel. It is one of the first things that Bowie did as an actor and reflects his dedication to the otherworldly character of Newton that followed him for the rest of his career. Interestingly, Bowie wasn’t even the first person to be considered for the role. Peter O’Toole and Michael Chrichton were rumored to be considered. But it’s arguable that this film would not have been nearly the same if not for Bowie and Roeg’s involvement.

For the most part, the film follows the book almost exactly save for some of the more artistic and disorienting cinematic choices throughout. These choices lend a hypnotic and strange atmosphere to a piece that is already relatively enigmatic. From shots of the otherworldly planet of Newton’s origin and the slow, ignored death of his wife and children, to the paint-soaked, at times terrifying flying sexual moments between Newton and his sexual conquests, to the wastelands and mod architecture that present the dichotomy of our internal and external American identity, there Is much to be enjoyed while watching this film as it completely transports you to a nineteen-seventies version of the future we are living in. Tevis’ reflection of consumerism, in media, material, and drugs is on full display and magnified in the hands of Roeg… and interestingly there is a slant-reality in what we are seeing. Documentaries included in the Criterion edition mention a relentless cocaine addiction that practically paralyzed Bowie throughout filming along with explanations of remarkably inventive jury-rigging of sets and costumes to create effects that were as convincing as they were cheap-last-minute-improvisations using cups and tablecloths from the craft services table. It is simply a great film to watch and works as something to break apart for its inventive use of atmosphere and cinematography, watch with a strict eye toward story and performance, watch on a Friday night with a bucket of popcorn, or simply have on in the background of a party on mute, silently painting its mesmerizing imagery. A great film.

“I’m just an individual who doesn’t feel that I need to have somebody qualify my work in any particular way. I’m working for me.”

Dan Watters’ THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH graphic novel adaptation was pretty accurate and presented a beautifully and trippily illustrated approach to the film in graphic novel format. This book was not so much based on the book but rather the film where the artist had intentionally emulated their looks, costumes, and settings. It wasn’t a very long book, and I honestly think my favorite part was the way our protagonist was diving deeper and deeper into alcoholism. After the story, there was an excellent essay, concept art, and production photos that took up the last thirty or so pages, which was nice. Probably not revisiting this one but enjoyed it while I spent time with it.

“What I like to do is try to make a difference with the work I do.”

David Bowie and Edna Walsh’s LAZARUS (book and lyrics) is a strange, trippy, confounding play that doesn’t seem to translate well to the stage. Frankly, I understood it, but didn’t quite understand why it exists. This play, a strange sequel to The Man Who Fell To Earth, is only manipulatively beautiful for fans of Bowie. In a manner, it is somewhat of a jukebox feverdream that came out just before BLACK STAR was released – in fact, the cast recording began the day we all learned of Bowie’s death which adds this strange, haunting, and mournful angle to the cast recording. Now, it is important to note that I experienced this in a particular order… First, I read the book and lyrics (published by TCG). This sort of separated my experience of the story from being tainted or influenced by the performances or the cast recording – two things that would have easily emotionally swayed my opinion. Having started there, this piece is bizarre and surreal, but I am not sure I mean that in a cohesive, good way. Entering the story with a knowledge of The Man Who Fell To Earth helps, but otherwise, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. The characters come and go with seemingly no motivation or connection. Thematically this is part of the story of Newton being a strange man stuck on a strange planet, but there is a lot of legwork and missing pieces the audience needs to supply to the story that is glued together by some songs that are inarguably masterpieces… And I think that is where this goes wrong. We get a bowie concert with high emotion but no substance as far as the plot goes. Is anyone to blame for this? Well, let’s listen to the cast album and a ticketed stream of the live show on the internet, shall we?

“I’m always amazed that people take what I say seriously. I don’t even take what I am seriously.”

THE CAST RECORDING OF LAZARUS and IVO VAN HOWE’S STAGED PERFORMANCE OF LAZARUS

Of course, after reading the script it was time to dive into the cast recordings of the show to see if it made any more sense.

The cast recording ignores much of the script in terms of the spoken elements and skips out on the context of the performances. Is it a great cast album? Yeah, it is. The performances on this recording are raw and important – the cast coincidentally learned on the day of recording that Bowie took his final breaths only hours earlier. I could see this moment and information having a huge impact on the emotion and performances in what they produced in the studio. It is absolutely apparent, and between the performance piece itself and the emotional momentum of the days they spent recording the cast album, one can hear how heavy this moment is that moves the cast so deeper than what would otherwise be a cover album. We hear the grief, the hope, the extraplanetary screaming into the void as we all realize what a gift we lost with the loss of Bowie.

The staged performance I saw was a ticketed streamed show of the original cast filmed at King’s Cross Theater in 2016 (whose proceeds were entirely donated to charity). The run of the US and British versions were short, and revivals remain so with only one upcoming event in Brooklyn next month. Why, with such a score and explosivity from Bowie’s final work to be presented publicly, was it so short-lived? It was likely because the show itself was a video-projection triptych that was confoundingly abstract and far from the lollipop stand work we have come to expect in theatrical productions – in short, Bowie, Walsh, and Van Howe set out to make art, and art is what we got. It is wildly enigmatic and disorienting, all occurring on a stage with a design that looks like it belongs more in the MOMA than presenting a musical. Enter the strange and lost Thomas Jerome Newton, later in his life, navigating being here well after his anticipated departure and just as disoriented as ever.

The performance made the script make a great deal more sense, in fact, it was different from the printed script in many ways as the script was rushed out in hardcover before they even began previews. It isn’t the same show. I found the first half hour grating and disjointed – and as much as I absolutely love Michael C. Hall’s performances every time, there was a strange accent he had at the beginning that seemed to drift away by the end. That seems to be my only complaint, though, because by the time we get to Changes about a third of the way through, the production gets its bearings and I found myself astonished with what happens for the rest of the show. Don’t underestimate the desire to shut it off the first half hour or forty minutes; the payoff, however, presents performances that are incredible, video and stage work that feels magical, and Sophia Anne Caruso really brings some powerful moments to her interactions with the other characters. It seems ahead of its time for both what they were trying to do and the audiences that saw it… and perhaps the point is that it always will be and doesn’t seem to know what it is. Is it a sequel to The Man Who Fell To Earth? Is it a jukebox musical? An art installation? A show that even wants an audience there to see it? Something that is making a statement about relationships, abandonment, alienation, alcoholism, mortality, and conflict? Is it a statement about anything or just an experience, like observing a painting in a museum that with a glance you take in, examine, and then quietly leave and accept it for what it is?

I am not sure I have an answer to any of those questions – or whether the piece is successful in doing what it set out to do besides telling a story with unclear boundaries. I really enjoyed it, however. Before watching it, fresh with the sadness of Bowie’s passing, I feared that my enjoyment and experience with it would be hampered by nostalgia rather than objective enjoyment – unearned nostalgia being the only thing I think makes jukebox musicals successful at all… They make no sense on paper despite reinvigorating a love for whatever artist is the flavor of the week on Broadway. But this isn’t a piece like that, and in a lot of ways it stands apart from Bowie and the character of Thomas Jerome Newton… Bowie is inseparable from Newton, but Michael C Hall and Broadway is very much separated from Bowie, and this might be why I thought it was so successful for me… except the first third.

“As you get older, the questions come down to about two or three. How long? And what do I do with the time I’ve got left?”

[Fred Kohn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I waited to write a review until I read this a second time accompanied by the soundtrack. It was a much better experience than the initial read-through, and I feel like I caught more than twice of the intent of the author. I would upgrade my initial 3 star experience to 3.5 stars only; it was not so wonderful that I would rush out and buy tickets if the show came to town, but I would definitely consider it. I still had a bit of a sense that the play was a gimmick to recycle old Bowie songs in spots, although some of the songs fit in with the plot wonderfully— especially the last one Heroes which is ©1977!

[Yourfiendmrjones · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s challenging, like the film that started Bowie in the mid-seventies and the book by Walter Tevin that both are based on.

The way in it feels like to me, along with Bowie’s work in general, is accepting that something so impressionistic and abstract in the way David Bowie and this piece tends to be has to be viewed as seen through someone completely alien to our world. But, at the start of this piece as at the end of “The Man Who Fell To Earth,” an alien who has been thoroughly corrupted and maddened and broken by living on Earth. An alien who needs to leave.

I gave it four stars, mostly for the music, but also because I’ll be trying to figure it out for quite some time to come.

[Nathalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love David Bowie's songs but I didn't know the story from this musical. It is quite difficult to get into really if you haven't seen it at all either. I liked the nice story though about Newton, Michael, Elly and the others... It must have been rocking on stage.
The introductory part gives an interesting overview of the creation of the musical and of David Bowie's oeuvre.

It is still very nice to read and meanwhile listen to the great songs from the musical's album. Wish I had been in Amsterdam to see Ivo Van Hove's creation in hindsight!

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first musical/screenplay that I have read so it is hard to rate and review. Do I'll base my rating on how much I enjoyed it, and it was an enjoyable read. A fitting sequel to The Man Who Fell to Earth delving further into how Thomas Newton copes with being stranded on Earth and what happened after he sold his businesses.

Overall, a good and quick read of one if David Bowie's final projects.

[Danny Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seeing the (Dutch production of the) play (also directed by Ivo van Hove) was a joyful experience I enjoyed very much.

It reminded me of what I tried to with several musicals I was involved in as a writer, actor and more. A pleasant surprise.

Trying to figure it out, looking for clarity and a fathomable plot won’t get you far when reading or watching this. But I do think repeated reading can be a way of seeing the pieces fall into place.

I find myself comparing this to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ Ghosteen, which recently came out. I do believe these two joyous and wonderful productions have more in common than one might think.

When writing musicals, songs or prose myself, I try to create an easier to comprehend narrative. But I find this inspiring and there is a lot to be said for letting go a bunch of underdeveloped characters in a vapour-like cloud of words, music, video art and lights.

This is beauty to be experienced, not grasped.

[Suellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

#OUABC 2024 Reading Challenge: 40 Prompts (30. A book with a purple cover)

4.5 Stars ⚡️"Lazarus: The Complete Book and Lyrics" is a musical written by David Bowie and Enda Walsh, inspired by Walter Tevis' novel "The Man Who Fell to Earth." The story follows Thomas Jerome Newton, an alien who comes to Earth seeking water for his drought-stricken planet. After failing to return home, he becomes a recluse, living in a luxurious apartment and spending his days watching TV. The musical explores themes of alienation, identity, and the search for meaning in a chaotic world. With a mix of Bowie's iconic music and Walsh's thought-provoking writing, "Lazarus" is a powerful and emotionally charged exploration of the human condition.

#LazarusTheCompleteBookAndLyrics #DavidBowie #EndaWalsh #Bookstagram

[Artep · Rating 2 out of 5]

If this had been randomly typed up by a monkey, it would just be random crap typed up by a monkey. Hell, if it were a jukebox musical based on the songs of, say, Meat Loaf instead of Bowie, it'd be random crap based on the songs of Meat Loaf. However, since it's been randomly typed up by David Bowie and Enda Walsh, it's now art~~.

... which just goes to remind me why I absolutely loathe random crap trying to convince me there's a deeper meaning to it instead of it just being random crap art~~.

Give me Mamma Mia (the show, not the horrible movie, because even art-hating plebs like me have standards) over this crap any day.

(I do vaguely enjoy Life on Mars. It may or may not be due to self-preservation.)

[Lyndal · Rating 5 out of 5]

It follows the character he played in the Man who Fell to Earth. Thomas Newton. It is a continuation and a goodbye. I feel a bit of David Bowie's final goodbye to us before he left us. I would suggest pulling up the original soundtrack from the play and playing it along with reading. It is beautiful, wonderful, sad. Goodbye, Starman.

[Marc · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps the reason I didn't enjoy this play is because I wasn't aware it was meant to be a sequel to "The Man Who Fell to Earth", which I haven't read or seen. Cover says "inspired" by the novel which, to me, usually means it could be read as a stand alone piece without prior knowledge of the original work.

[Jennifer Spiliakos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, and heartbreaking. I wish I could see the show. I listened to some of the soundtrack as I read, and by the time I got to Heroes I was crying. If you are a fan of Bowie's music, this is a must. Listening to Lazarus now with different ears.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Het was een emotionele rollercoaster tijdens het zien van de musical. Nu, dit boek lezende, beleef ik alles weer opnieuw. Prachtige musical met muziek van een prachtig artiest. David, je wordt gemist maar met dit werk zul je voor altijd leven.

[Ella Catherall · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to enjoy this, but I just ended up finding it confusing and boring. I kept waiting for something of importance that made sense to happen and it just didn’t. I feel like it may require a re-read.

[Hayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great accompaniment to the message of the stage play!

I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who saw the stage play, as I think it is easy to get lost in aesthetic, and perhaps miss some of the message. To me, it drove that message home. Another Bowie masterpiece.

[Kim Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a difficult relationship with Lazarus/Blackstar due to the proximity to them and Bowie’s death. I have not seen the play but am glad to have read this and to see how David saw Newton’s life on Earth panning out. No simple answers but would you really expect them?

[massmarketbareback · Rating 5 out of 5]

phenomenal

[Trey Lane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but I’d prefer to see it performed

[Bobby Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sad story. As sad as the movie was, though it's been a long time since I've seen it.

[Amelie · Rating 5 out of 5]

i just love this musical. I've never actually seen it live but just reading the script and seeing the fotos i can imagine how beautiful this musical must have been, and still is.

[Drac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ow.

[Will Farris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would need to see this live to really understand it. The music is great!

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Bowie was and is phenomenal.
This musical proved it one last time.

I loved reading it. But I certainly am biased because I have already seen the musical live twice.

[Fahad Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I'm a bit of a David Bowie obsessive (understatement of the century), and on 'tis, our second year without the Starman himself, I figured I'd give the book and lyrics of Lazarus a second read. Last year, I finally got this book and it made my head spin but, like, in a nice way. Gave it 5 stars and everything. I've downgraded it a smidge, although I have to clarify that I still love this weird play as much as I did last time

Lazarus is a sequel of sorts to The Man Who Fell to Earth (the movie, not the book). By which they mean that Thomas Newton is back and his lover's name is brought up a few times. I suppose you don't have to watch the movie to follow this one, since it won't make Lazarus any less confusing. Really, nothing will prepare you for how odd Lazarus is

We find Thomas Newton, our favorite gin-slamming alien, sitting before a TV and drowning himself in gin, coasting on his fortunes. He's depressed because he failed to reach home to his family, and he also cut his lover, Mary-Lou, out of his life. In his orbit are Elly, a girl stuck in a marriage she hates and falling in love with Newton, and Valentine, who is tired of being called crazy even though he does crazy things. Newton is visited by The Girl (in his head) who doesn't remember who she is but knows everything about him, and she promises him a way back home

The way these stories unfold is a bit of a mess. Newton keeps rejecting The Girl's offers because, again, she is in his head. Elly feels herself becoming consumed by Mary-Lou and starts transforming into her. Valentine stalks a couple because "there's always a love that needs killing" (stop calling him crazy, though, he doesn't like it). While Newton's story gets a hell of an ending (a really sad one, too), Elly's ends on a bit of an anti-climax and Valentine literally walks off into the darkness, never to be seen again. It's really not a play that works as a coherent story (in script form, anyway - no one bought me tickets to New York or London when the play was on :( )

What's clear is that Bowie and Enda Walsh aren't really trying to tell a story here as much as they've presented a series of analogies and metaphors to express Bowie's state of mind in his final years. Subtext is text in Lazarus, and it's really interesting to try and figure out what Bowie is trying to say. I think I understand it, more than I did last year, though to say anything would be to spoil it. It has this in common with his other work from the time, the album Blackstar. As such, if you're as much a fan of David Bowie and his work as I am, you ought to give it a try. BUT

Why did I downgrade its rating?

In my evaluation of books/everything, I consider accessibility to be a factor, and there's basically none in Lazarus. Your prerequisites for a good time include listening to ALL of his albums and knowing the narrative of Bowie's life and where his head was at during various stages of it. It pairs well with a book like The Age of Bowie, or the BBC documentaries Five Years and The Last Five Years. I'm not saying that it's mandatory that a play should be accessible to everyone, but when the majority of his fanbase (those who listened only to the music and are familiar with his aesthetic) are going to find Lazarus challenging, that's kind of an issue

Before the conclusion, a note on the music: Lazarus' soundtrack is made up of various songs from Bowie's discography. I don't need to tell you that this is some of the best music ever made, of course. There's a cast recording album of Lazarus' soundtrack, and my oh my is it good

I do love Lazarus, and if you're looking for something to give your mind a workout, you'll love it too. All I'm saying is that this anorexic volume is not for the faint of heart or for non-devotees of David Bowie. If you're in the target audience for this, though, it's a wonderful read and absolutely should be part of your collection

[Jay Gabler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having not seen this musical, I understand why it frustrated many viewers. Still, it's clearly an integral part of the work David Bowie was doing in his final years, and I think that when understood in that light, it's quite poignant. I reviewed Lazarus for The Current.

[bern10var · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for all David Bowie fans, either one has seen the play on stage or not. The story is a mix of stories from the Bowie universe, and some his finest songs, and sort of the exit of Bowie him self, as he finally managed to escape this planet in 2016. Love the fiction. Hate the fact.

[Allie Singer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading the book after seeing the play = makes about 25% more sense. Enjoyed it, felt glazed.