NOTHING IS TRUE - EVERYTHING IS PERMITTED
The Life of Brion Gysin

"Geiger's book clips along at a terrific pace ... Gossipy and erudite by turns, it provides an illuminating and entertaining glimpse into the bohemian demimonde of literary queens and dope-fiends."

– The Daily Telegraph (Read Full Review)

"John Geiger's book is a veritable kaleidoscope, capturing the mysterious Gysin in both flattering and unflattering lights, with alternative voices, spicy gossip, reference to the passage of history and to Gysin's involvement with movements of ideas ... Geiger captures well the drama of Gysin's life."

– The Independent (Read Full Review)

"Now, finally, the impeccably researched, astute biography that Gysin's life and work has long demanded."

– The Wire

"Compelling and sympathetic ... Geiger's biography is just the kind of solid narrative that can galvanize mainstream acceptance."

– L.A. Weekly

"Although Gysin is the Beat most people never heard of, Geiger's brisk, thorough biography more than makes the case that he was among the most influential cultural figures of the 20th century."

– Book Marks

"Lively, thorough, lucid, admiring - but careful not to take Gysin's self-mythologizations literally ... This biographer is, rather as Gysin said of [William S.] Burroughs, 'someone concentrating a beam of light through magnifying glass' - in this case, looking from a special angle at the whole 20th-century avant-garde."

– National Post

"John Geiger rescues one neglected name from obscurity with his rich and meticulously detailed biography."

– Toronto Star

"An engaging work distinguished by its thoroughness and common sense."

– St. John Telegraph Journal

"Wonderfully evoked...'He was the only man I have ever respected,' wrote Burroughs on his death, and Geiger's fair-handed recounting does a good job of explaining why."

– Modern Painters

“John Geiger has produced a volume of meticulously researched scholarship which is, at the same time, compulsively readable… This is a major work on an international figure of real importance.”

– SEE Magazine

"Every wild story, uncanny twist of fate, torrid love affair and epoch-defining innovation is rendered here with equal parts scholarship and dish, adding up to a fascinating tale."

– Xtra!

"We consider this an essential book for anybody who is a fan of Gysin and Burroughs."

– V. Vale, RE/Search

"A fine study of a twentieth century ideas man...The definitive word on Gysin"

– Beat Scene