Diary

Rating:
Summary: terrible writting, even worse story line
Review: This was possibly the worst book I have ever read. Against better judgement, having read "Choke" by Palahaniuk, I snatched this book from the shelf because of what seemed like a good plot. From the first page, I found myself bored with the diary of a hysterical wife who drools on about her pittiful existance. Palahaniuk takes a huge break from reality with a bizarre story that the reader assumes will tie itself together at the end but fails to do so.

Rating:
Summary: Palahniuk remains "King of the Mindjob"
Review: This book is the latest from Palahniuk and shows why he is one of the most incredible authors today. Starting with Fight Club, Palahniuk has shown a dark sense of humor that borders on perverse. It starts slow but if you have read any of his other books you know that the twist is coming and it's huge. If you haven't read one of his books, pick any one and clear time on your schedual.

Rating:
Summary: "Couldn't put it down"
Review: I agree with many reviewers, this is his (your) best work to date. It isn't as scary as Lullaby; or as action packed as Choke, Fight Club, or Survivor, yet his (your) brush strokes of the human language is unparalled. Sad yet prolific, this book is just fun to read. Strange as it may sound, Diary reminded me of something by Ayn Rand. There is no doubt, Palahniuk (you) is from another world. I'll always be anxiously awaiting his (your) next publication. If you want to read a book which will leave you wondering what you just read, read any of Chucks books. They're addicting, so be very careful.

Rating:
Summary: After I read this book, an alien took over my body and....
Review: ok, that's not true. this book is good, that is true. it's slow like a diary should be. i can't think of anything to compare it to. if you are coming off of serious antidepressants and have reality slips, i suggest delaying this book until your doctor says it's ok. the book is blurry. you read it and think you know what what will happen and then you are wrong. or i was . and there was not an alient. which was sad....i would have liked a disco alien....can you hear me now, Chuck?

Rating:
Summary: Palahniuk's best since Survivor
Review: Chuck Palahniuk's latest offering takes the form of a diary kept by Misty Marie Kleinman. The text of this diary, while personal, is directed at her husband, Peter Wilmot. Peter is in a coma for having, apparently, tried to commit suicide. Misty is, and has been for some time, miserable. She lashes out at Peter in her diary and in the process tells her story of why she is writing this diary and brings her life up to date while telling a very interesting story.

Diary examines the life of Misty Kleinman and traces how she got to Waytansea (wait and see, get it?) Island. Misty was an artist when she first started dating Peter Wilmot. In a time and a place where every other artist was trying to do art that made some sort of a statement about society (a teddy bear stuffed with feces), Misty was painting landscapes and pictures of buildings. She was gifted, true, but did not think much of her gift because of what everyone else was doing. She married Peter, a man that nobody else even wanted to talk to.

That is a rough sketch of Misty's origins, but the present day material is much different. It involves Peter in the coma, strange messages inside people's homes, a centuries old tradition/legend of the Wilmot family and how Misty ties into all of this. The novel showcases Palahniuk's wit and style but somehow managed to have more substance and heart that his last couple of novels (Choke, Lullaby). I got the sense that Palahniuk was maturing some as a writer, there is more emotional depth to this work. Diary is probably Palahniuk's best novel since Survivor. Diary touches on the theme of the tortured artist (taken to an extreme, as only Palahniuk can do) and the place of the artist in society. There is also hints of the supernatural in this book, which seems to be a direction Palahniuk is going more and more (Lullaby, for instance), but it is done so well that it doesn't feel intrusive. It is a very good book and I would recommend it as a good starting point to read Palahniuk.

Rating:
Summary: If you want something different...
Review: I've never read Palahniuk before although I certainly heard of Fight Club. I read the excerpt and was immediately drawn in. I bought the book, and read it in five days.

This book is different than anything out there. It's almost hard to classify. The book is not repetitive...sentances that are repeated are done so cleverly.

5 stars for sure!

Rating:
Summary: Reasons for not writing books to a metronome
Review: I seriously cannot finish this book.

Either there are a lot more people reading novels now who have attention deficit issues, or this book is the most repetative, nagging dead weight I have ever looked at. Now, I've read plenty of CP, and this has been clearly forming over the years; the little repeat sentence tags ("A couple of drinks. A couple of asprin. Repeat." Yeah, repeat is right. Try every paragraph.) are certainly his writing style and his alone, but how much can we take? How many times can you write the same novel over and over?

I am fairly sure that if you can find the beat rhythm the book was written to, you'll be able to read it back at the same beat, like a limmerick.

Rating:
Summary: THE SURVIVAL OF WAYTANSEA ISLAND
Review: While Misty's husband lies in a coma after a failed suicide attempt she writes a diary. But this isn't any ordinary diary of mundane daily events; it is rather a plunge into Palahniuk's world of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. This diary details the struggle of Misty's understanding of the unworldly events surrounding Waytansea Island. It is a world were everyone is telling her lies to keep her in the dark, but she knows something is fishy. Rich tourists are invading the island and making the locals dependent on their money. The tourists bring all the ills of society with them: pollution, corporate advertising, and a general decline in the standard of living. Misty finds out that her husband had been living a life of vandalism and violence directed towards the tourists that she was unaware. Rooms inside houses have suddenly disappeared and violent messages have been spray-painted along the walls. As Misty attempts to uncover the truth she realizes that she is in the center of the entire conspiracy.

DIARY is full of Palahniuk's signature style of social commentary. This time his literary guns are being directed towards the waste and destruction of upper class society. This is what his readers have come to expect. But unlike his other books, the prose in DIARY suffers from repetition that fails to add any anything to the plot. Palahniuk's constant usage of verbiage such as, "just for the record" and "the weather today is..." was distracting and a tad annoying. While the plot had some interesting aspects, its general nature appears to be outworn and old.

This book was far from being addictive, and I have enjoyed other Palahniuk's books better than DIARY.

Rating:
Summary: Another Surreal Chuck Experience
Review: I skipped two classes to read this book. If you've read previous Chuck Palahniuk novels, you'll be interested in this book. If you haven't read any--go read some!

While none of Chuck's books are ever hyper realistic, this book dips into the same sort of fantastic vein as Lullaby, with a supernatural twist that moves the plot along.

A great read, worth the purchase.

Rating:
Summary: excellent book
Review: a good book that keeps you in suspense until everything falls into place near the end of the novel. has the same kind of shock twist in invisible monsters and survivor, but kinda falls short compared with fight club. still a great book, nonetheless.