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Diary by Chuck Palahniuk
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3,57544564 (3.55)39

Member recommendations

  1. Cecilturtle recommends The Palace of Dreams by Ismail Kadare
  2. twomoredays recommends The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson, "The entire time I was reading The Gargoyle I was reminded of Palahniuk's work. Marianne of The Gargoyle reminds me of some of Palahniuk's female characters, (see more) but at the same time everything is cast in such a different light in Davidson's work that it stands apart. Fans of Diary may very well be interested in The Gargoyle and likewise fans of The Gargoyle should check out Diary."
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Showing 1-5 of 43 (next | show all)
While this novel moves quickly, capturing the reader's attention and refusing to let go, at the end, it's a creepy story that doesn't seem to have enough thought to really move it too far out of the horror/mystery genre. The plot is fabulous and twisting, as you'd expect from the author of Fight Club. However, it's disappointing that Chuck Palahniuk couldn't move away from creepiness for creepinesses sake and further explore some of the psychological and philosophical issues he touches upon.

If Tom Robbins could take this book and do a re-write, he would take the great ideas, such as handwriting analysis, the ideas of what makes an artist great, and perceptions, mix them with a bit of his humour, and have a masterpiece. Palahniuk, on the other hand, seems too fixated on shocking his reader, and his intellectual ideas get lost.

Overall, Diary is still a novel worth reading and spending a few hours with. ( )
ironicqueery | Jun 24, 2009 |  
I could read this book over and over again and I love it more every time. I absolutely recommend it. ( )
april85fool | Jun 19, 2009 |  
The style, the physical and psychological violence were all very similar to Fight Club. Characters struggling to understand their environment which is not what it seems, bizarre crimes and conspiracies, wanderings between reality and imagination. While the plot was interesting, albeit sometimes very confusing, the denouement creative, and the premise intelligent, there were some elements I found really too far-fetched (namely the use of the diary itself and the fire at the end). I also had trouble believing the main voice was that of a woman - it sounded much more like a man. It was very reminiscent of a David Lynch movie: uncomfortable yet mesmerizing. ( )
Cecilturtle | May 3, 2009 |  
Decent read, but not more. My first by the author and I'm not sure there will be more. ( )
Jonoen | Mar 22, 2009 |  
Diary is by the same guy that wrote Fight Club. If you're familiar with either the book or the movie or any of his other works, then you probably know that most of what he writes is pretty bizarre. Diary is about a woman, Misty Marie, who meets an odd boy in art college, falls in love and marries him, then moves to his odd little home town on Waytansea Island. By the way, throughout the book I couldn't help but say to myself "Wait and See" Island. I tried to put the emphasis on another syllable to keep that out of my mind because it was kind of distracting but now I'm pretty sure that was intentional. Not the distracting part but that we're supposed to Wait and See. The book opens with Misty writing in her diary to her husband who is in the hospital in a coma after a failed suicide attempt. Misty hasn't painted since she was in college and this becomes a major point in the book. I won't say anymore about the plot because I just can't describe it without giving everything away. This book is seriously bizarre and I kept waiting for the big twist at the end. The weird thing is that there is NO twist. Everything truly is as it seems. ( )
TonyaSB | Mar 18, 2009 |  
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Series (with order)
Canonical Title
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Awards and honors
Epigraph
Dedication
For my grandfather, Joseph Tallent, who told me to be whatever I wanted. 1910-2003
First words
Today, a man called from Long Beach.
Quotations
We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.
We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace.
Where do you get your inspiration?
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Book description

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0385509472, Hardcover)

“CAN YOU FEEL THIS?”

Chuck Palahniuk, the bestselling author of Fight Club, Choke, and Lullaby continues his twenty-first-century reinvention of the horror novel in this scary and profound look at our quest for some sort of immortality.

Diary takes the form of a “coma diary” kept by one Misty Tracy Wilmot as her husband lies senseless in a hospital after a suicide attempt. Once she was an art student dreaming of creativity and freedom; now, after marrying Peter at school and being brought back to once quaint, now tourist-overrun Waytansea Island, she’s been reduced to the condition of a resort hotel maid. Peter, it turns out, has been hiding rooms in houses he’s remodeled and scrawling vile messages all over the walls—an old habit of builders but dramatically overdone in Peter’s case. Angry homeowners are suing left and right, and Misty’s dreams of artistic greatness are in ashes. But then, as if possessed by the spirit of Maura Kinkaid, a fabled Waytansea artist of the nineteenth century, Misty begins painting again, compulsively. But can her newly discovered talent be part of a larger, darker plan? Of course it can …
Diary is a dark, hilarious, and poignant act of storytelling from America’s favorite, most inventive nihilist. It is Chuck Palahniuk’s finest novel yet.

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:08 -0400)

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