Search By:

Advanced Search

Learn More
Audible on Twitter and Facebook Audible for Blackberry is here Free Mp3 Player | Audible.com

Product Details

Sample
Diary: A Novel
Unabridged
Narrated by
Regular Price:
$19.25
Special Offer Price: $7.49

Two ways to buy!

Get this for
$7.49
 Learn More
Get this for
$19.25
Add to Cart
Program Type
Audiobook (Fiction)
Publisher
Length
7 hrs and 52 mins
Audible Release Date
08-22-03
Audio Formats About Formats
2 3 4
Customer Rating

3.77 based on 191 ratings
 

Publisher's Summary

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.

©2003 Chuck Palahniuk; (P)2003 Random House, Inc. Random House AudioBooks, A Division of Random House, Inc.

What the Critics Say

"...[the author's] last minute switching of gears...can turn a darkly ominous story into a source of heart-tugging inspiration." (The New York Times)
"A creative, unusual tale...the story is fresh." (Publishers Weekly)

From AudioFile

As her husband languishes in a coma, Misty begins this diary of spooky doings on the resort island of Waytansea that are somehow related to the couple. But why go into the plot of this provocative and critically acclaimed fright fest? Before you get 20 minutes into this recording, you'll be so bored by the narrator's adenoidal monotone that you'll be unable to listen to the rest. © AudioFile 2003

About AudioFile

Customer Reviews

Showing: 1-5 of 13
Previous123Next
Rating 5.0Rating 5.0Rating 5.0Rating 5.0Rating 5.0 "Loved it"
By: Scott (Woodstock, GA, USA)
September 18, 2006
The story was fast-paced, interesting, and definitely unusual. I, at least, also thought it was a lot of fun, but in that regard I'm a minority--see other reviews for conflicting opinions about the story's level of grimness.

Palahniuk's distinctive narrative voice was brought out nicely by Martha Plimpton's reading. Last but not least, his talent for ferreting out interesting trivia was particularly on display in this book.

Highly recommended.
Rating 1.0Rating 1.0Rating 1.0Rating 1.0Rating 1.0 "Great Author, Lousy Book"
By: William (Graham, NC, USA)
May 05, 2006
I loved Choke and Lullaby but this book is a dog. He broke the cardinal rule in that you don't care about any of the charactors. The book is depressing with a story that just drags on and on. It is not entertaing in the least. His other books are so creative and different. If you are in a great mood, don't read this book because you will feel horrible being made to wallow in the non stop misery of these pathetic creatures.
Rating 3.0Rating 3.0Rating 3.0Rating 3.0Rating 3.0 "Martha Plimpton is excellent."
By: Danielle (Norwalk, CT, USA)
February 21, 2006
As narrator, Martha Plimpton is wonderful. The story itself is eerie and interesting, but the end disappoints.
Rating 5.0Rating 5.0Rating 5.0Rating 5.0Rating 5.0 "Very good"
By: Richard (Fairfax, VA, USA)
December 07, 2005
I am a big fan of Chuck Palahnuik and have read all his books on paperback, except for this one. I knew what to expect from his books, and this one does not let his fans down! The reader was really able to bring it to life and I could not be more pleased with her choice.
5 of 9 people found this review helpful:
Rating 2.0Rating 2.0Rating 2.0Rating 2.0Rating 2.0 "Misplaced category"
By: Richard (San Francisco, CA, USA)
May 22, 2005
First, my tepid praise has something to do with the placement of this novel in the "gay and lesbian" category. It does not belong there. There is no gay character, so this may be why I found the story puzzling for a few hours. (Perhaps the author is gay.) Maybe this is the only reason I am writing a review.

Second, the writing style is as much poetry as prose. The sentences are short or are occasionally only phrases; certain figures of speech are repeated [too] frequently. If Marcel Proust is bel canto, Chuck Palahniuk is rap. Since more people listen to Tupac Shakur than Bellini, who cares what I think! The story is inventive, but it failed to be suspenseful, believable, or mature.

I have no issue with the reader, as others did. I think that her deadpan delivery might have been exactly what the author wrote.
Previous123Next
Prices subject to VAT and sales tax where applicable
Recommendations powered by: loomia
© Copyright 1997 - 2009 Audible, Inc. Legal Notices Privacy Policy