Rating: 
Summary: I kept thinking
Review: Agreeing with many who reviewed this, I wanted to love this book; I came in with high expectations, even though his last book was an enormous bummer for me. I found this to a transitional story. The CP of Fight Club is disappearing. His novels have moved to more intimate territory, which is quite good, but never great, and not yet fully satisfying. As for the reviewers who felt they were reading the same chapter over and over again, read the book one more time, slowly. The major difference here from CP's other work, is this is not a book that is designed to be torn through; it demands attention in a way the others didn't. If you haven't tried CP yet, or if you have and are iffy based on what you read last, try this. It is not a great book (and the ending would have been stronger without the final portion, but don't look ahead!), but it is an indication that the next one, if the transition in CP's writing themes holds, the next one will be.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Chuck's best, but still very good
Review: Overall, Diary was very good. However, it was somewhat disappointing considering the masterpieces Palahniuk has written in the past. Obviously, it was infinitely better than Laura Miller said it was in her scathing salon.com review (look at me, I write for salon.com and can say whatever I want even if it's not true at all). While I would recommend the book to a fan of Palahniuk, it surely wouldn't be the first I'd recommend to someone who hadn't read him (that would be Survivor or Fight Club, of course). For the first 38 pages or so, I was completely lost. I had no idea what was going on. Then in a few pages all the basic things are explained. I then reread the first 38 pages again and everything made perfect sense. I don't know why it was written like this, perhaps so you pay attention to the atmosphere and details, instead of merely absorbing plot details (like that's ever a problem with one of Palahniuk's books), and while these opening pages were well written and filled with great stuff, it was still annoying, even if in the end it led to a greater appreciation. I didn't care for the supernatural stuff, and the repetition stuff seemed especially repetitive, without being as insightful as in previous books. The ideas on where we get our inspiration were very interesting, but that's about it. I found the use of the 2nd person to be refreshing, although I don't know how women readers would like this, since "you" are a comatose male (this is revealed shortly after page 38, so it's not a spoiler, and knowing that makes the first 38 pages much more intelligible on the first read). It's not until the very last page that all the pieces of Palahniuk's idea are revealed, and I think while his execution is less than perfect (but still very good), you have to appreciate the completeness to which the idea was used and executed. Diary is a very good book that I recommend. I rate it near Invisible Monsters, Lullaby, somewhere below Survivor and Fight Club, but above Choke.
Rating: 
Summary: Dark, dazzling fairy tale
Review: "Everything is a self-portrait. Everything is a diary." "So writes "queen of the slaves? Misty Wilmot, the central character in American author Chuck Palahniuk's latest and most personal effort, Diary. If she's right, the self-portrait Palahniuk paints with his words is bleak and bitter indeed. Diary is at first what its title signifies. Misty, a waitress and failed painter, is keeping a "coma diary," a record of events for her husband Peter, who lies unconscious after a botched suicide attempt. Raging at Peter for leaving her and their daughter at the mercy of his mother, her tale becomes more and more bizarre, resembling a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm at their grimmest. At its base level, Diary is a warped, compulsively readable yarn of sadness and lunacy. Palahniuk effortlessly switches gears throughout, using both first- and third-person narrative, taking the story from kitchen-sink drama to the satirical, surreal horror of his most famous novels, Fight Club and last year's best-selling Lullaby. However, Diary strives for something more. While Diary is a showcase for his pitch-black humour and caustic wit, Palahniuk has focused his searing gaze on the plight of the artist in society, creating a fable on the pain and turmoil an artist hypothetically has to endure during the creative process . Palahniuk is merciless in his condemnation of the artist as product rather than an outlet for creative expression. Misty's burgeoning talent as a painter is contrasted with the endless and destructive commercialism of her home on Waytansea Island, an idyllic haven which becomes increasingly foreboding, inundated with billboards, flyers, and corporate logos imprinted on the beaches. He also lampoons the pretense of the artistic temperament, the belief that anything not remotely shocking or unusual is a sellout of one's talent. Misty, forlorn over her traditional paintings, fears her peers will see her work as lacking artistic importance. "If anybody she knew still painted at all, they used their own blood or semen. And they painted on live dogs from the animal shelter or on molded gelatin deserts, but never on canvas." Palahniuk is careful not to let his passion and wrath overwhelm the narrative, a flaw his past work was prone to. What surprises most about Diary is the empathy he creates for Misty, an emotional resonance that his previous efforts, for all their sporadic brilliance and obscene poetry, never attained. The novel even ends on a cautiously upbeat note, profound where earlier works were hollow. Diary is the work of a mature writer coming into his own, in full command of his tools and talent. Like Don DeLillo before him (an obvious influence), Palahniuk has grown from cult novelist to mainstream success without sacrificing his integrity, style, or originality. Diary also contains Palahniuk's most concise encapsulation of the artist in society, a fitting ode to a writer at his peak. "[A]n artist's job is to pay attention, collect, organize, preserve, then write a report. Document. Make your presentation. The job of an artist is just not to forget."
Rating:
Summary: No one writes addicting books like Chuck Palahniuk
Review: Like many people, I was introduced to Chuck Palahniuk's work through the movie adaptation of "Fight Club," one of his earlier novels. I eagerly read that book and the other two available at the time, "Survivor" and "Invisible Monsters," and I loved them all. I've read every book he's released since then, and they've all been intense page-turners. It seems, though, that Palahniuk has been getting a bit more mystical and fatalistic with time, and nowhere is this more apparent than in "Diary." This is the main complaint I have with the book, as it seems to have lost a lot of the relevant social commentary that made his earlier novels so gratifying. It's still an entertaining read and certainly worth the price of admission, but if you've never read his work before, read "Survivor" or "Choke" instead. Those are the better of his novels so far. I still consider Palahniuk one of the most important and relevant authors of our time, and all his books are excellent, but unfortunately this is the weakest of them.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Perfect!
Review: Sitting here, seven days after the release of this book and having just finished it, I realize how creative Mr. Palahniuk is. In this book, he uses his play on words and writing style to absolute perfection - It flows flawlessly! Like many of his other books, it ends with a surprise that is impossible to predict. Also, like many of his other books, it is filled with fun, miscellaneous, trivia - this time about art and psycology. Without giving away any of the plot (Like so many editorial reviews have) I will just put it this way - Simply Perfect! Instead of putting this on your "Must Read" list, Put it on your "Will Read" list. You won't be dissapointed.
Rating:
Summary: pallahniuk does it again
Review: Diary is an eerie, yet equal addition to Chuck's list of work. Not as humerous as the last few novels but his style is definitely in rare form. There is also plenty of suspense, some comedy thrown in to take the edge off, and great ramblings about various atists and also the human anatomy. In short it is another well done book by one of the most original authors working in the field today, and I hope it doesn't take long before he drops his next literary atom bomb.
Rating: 
Summary: A quick read for a rainy day...but not good for much else.
Review: As if the blatant references to "Rosemary's Baby" and even the NBC TV movie "Bay Coven," which starred Susan Rutan of "LA Law" fame, weren't enough! Does Palahniuk really need to add to the mix a lapsed Thomas Kinciad-esque painter/single mother who goes out of her way to ignore obvious signs of sketchiness? If you can forgive the author his lame-brained life insurance policy scheme, an unexplained father in law, a "heroine" with a penchant for gaudy costume jewelry, and other simplistic plot/character devices, this book might be for you. But don't think too hard...the story completely falls apart if you give it a second thought. At best--and at worst--its an amateurish look at materialism/consumerism through the eyes of yet another (potentially) unreliable narrator.
Rating:
Summary: wait and see
Review: I read this book back in July after a friend got a hold of an advance reading copy...and whoa. Although Chuck stays true to his unique mix of social satire and supernatural thriller, this book is also a steadily mounting mystery novel. But unlike Chuck's other novels, there is no big twist in the end...not to say I was disappointed...but after reading all of his other books, i was expecting one...other then the 'Rosemary's Baby' kind of ending which i was expecting... well, i guess there was one... let's just say it must have been inspired by Charlie Kaufman. And as any reader of Chuck Palahniuk novels knows, it is hard to discuss one of his books without giving away key details and surprises.........vfl
Rating:
Summary: This is Chuck Palahniuk. This is Chuck Palahniuk on Art.
Review: This is Chuck Palahniuk writing a good, but not great, novel. After Palahniuk revolutionized the postmodern novel with Fight Club (also a fantastic movie) and his follow-up, the tragicomic Survivor, he seemingly ran out of steam- Choke, his fourth novel, turned out to be a dull, formulaic piece that showed little of his previous innovation. He made a partial recovery with Lullaby, which mixed his existential sensibilities with a dash of Stephen King style supernaturalism, but didn't quite hit the depths of outrageous nihilism that marked his earlier successes. Diary is another work in a similiar vein to Lullaby- creative, enjoyable to read, yet not on the level of Fight Club or Survivor. In Diary, the tale of a burned-out ex-artist, her comatose husband, and a sinisterly comedic conspiracy to save a decaying old-money resort town, Palahniuk continues his postmodern revival of the early gothic mystery. Early gothic works, written in a time when science promised to answer age-old questions of meaning and cast off the veil of the supernatural, were characterized by sinister horrors that, when exposed to the light of reason, turned out to be nothing but tricks of the mind. Palahniuk's twist on the tradition is to add a sense of irony- what was sinister and supernatural ultimately turns out to be ridiculous, trite, and reek of bourgeoise inanity. In addition, Palahniuk, who's taken on the banality of office life and the self-deceptive certainty of religious life, now takes on the life of the artist- one, throughout history, characterized by pain, hardship, sickness, and a drive to escape. In addition to writing a thoroughly enjoyable novel, Palahniuk gives an insightful look at the nature of art and it's relation to fear- a relationship well known to any true artist, Palahniuk included. While not revolutionary in the way Fight Club or Survivor was, Diary is another excellent novel by Palahniuk, and well worth reading. His social criticism is in fine form, and his writing maintains it's gripping style. Diary is not to be missed, especially by those of an artistic persuasion.
Rating:
Summary: Can You Feel This?
Review: Grace says, "We all die." She says, "The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will." From my personal favorate writer and my own personal savior, Chuck Palahniuk, comes his sixth novel. Although I wouldn't consider this his finest by a mile, it's still a very well-crafted and intriguing book. The plot follows a middle-aged woman who after the failed suicide attempt and coma of her husband, must work tables to support her daughter and mother-in-law. Strangely enough she keeps getting calls from people whose vacation homes have been altered by her husband. These home are missing rooms, blocked off, hidden. When she goes to investigate, these rooms are filled with startling messages from her husband. The island she so peacefully lives on also starts to change and her mother-in-law and daughter both seem to be acting very suspicious. The novel is written in a very unique way also. It's written in the form of a coma diary. A diary from the main character to her husband for him to read if he ever comes out of his coma. Like all Palahniuk novels, Diary is written in a very dark mood. I did feel that the novel was a little "lighter" than most his work. Though still very dark. The one thing that attracts me to Palahniuk's work is that he is very insightful on our society. Many times while reading one of his novels including Diary, I find myself reading a phrase again, awed at the substance that I'm taking in. If your a Palahniuk fan, it's safe to say you won't be disappointed with Diary. It's definately a different approach by him, but still very much his style. I felt it seemed somewhat slow in the beginning of the book through the first several chapters, this is just to build-up the plot though. Once the build-up is past, the rest of the novel speeds by. Once I pick up a Palahniuk novel I find myself unable to let it down. Which is why I read them so fast. To anyone new to Palahniuk I would probably recommend reading one of his earlier novels first like "Choke" or "Invisible Monsters," and of course Palahniuk's immortal "Fight Club." And if you enjoy any of those, it's just a matter of time before you read all of his work.
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