What would the soundtrack of cities like Seattle, Salt Lake City, Portland, or Vancouver sound like? What might one encounter at the filming locations of “TwinPeaks”? How much time can one spend in a bookstore – and why would someone in the U.S. Northwest be thinking of the Czech city of Znojmo? “Westnordwest” (Westnorthwest) recounts the experiences of a grand journey across North America: from Washington State, through British Columbia, to Oregon, and back again to Washington. The result is an original and visually lavish travelogue in which author and comic artist Jindřich Janíček gives free rein to his fascination with North American geography, folklore, and pop culture. Impressions that defy easy verbal description are captured with a sense of wonder and enthusiasm, all while being infused with a pervasive self-irony.

Within these striking colored-pencil drawings, we discover major cities and skyscrapers, roadside motels, run-down gas stations and food stands, cafés, antique bookshops, and ordinary neighborhoods – places one would never find in a standard guidebook. But we also encounter vast forests, lakes and waterfalls, mountain ranges, and volcanoes. And truly ancient, imposing bridges. Humorous comic-strip sequences interweave with illustrated prose, enriched by encyclopedic curiosities, sketches, maps, and diagrams.

Spanning over three hundred pages, this book is a blend of visual and written travel diary – serving simultane­ously as a personal confession and a political commentary.

Translated from Czech by Katharina Hinderer.

Release date: Oktober 2026