Diary

First edition cover
Author	Chuck Palahniuk
Cover artist	Jacket design by Rodrigo Corral Hand lettering by Leanne Shapton
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Horror, Satricial novel
Publisher	Doubleday
Publication date	August 26, 2003
Media type	Print (Hardcover & Paperback, audio cassette, audio CD, and audio download
Pages	261 pp (first edition, hardcover)
ISBN	ISBN 0-385-50947-2 (first edition, hardcover)

Diary is a 2003 novel by Chuck Palahniuk. It centers on Misty Wilmot, a once-promising young artist who is drinking too much and working as a waitress in a hotel. Her husband, a contractor, is in a coma after a suicide attempt, and his clients are threatening Misty with lawsuits over a series of vile messages they've discovered on the walls of houses he remodeled. Suddenly, Misty's artistic talent returns. Inspired but confused by a burst of creativity, she soon finds herself a pawn in a larger conspiracy that threatens to cost hundreds of lives. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Charles Michael Chuck Palahniuk (IPA: )[1] (born February 21, 1962) is an American satirical novelist and freelance journalist of Ukrainian ancestry born in Pasco, Washington. ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Horror fiction is, broadly, fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle, or horrify the reader. ... 1867 edition of the satirical magazine Punch, a British satirical magazine, ground-breaking on popular literature satire. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... It has been suggested that The Crime Club be merged into this article or section. ... is the 238th day of the year (239th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... ISBN-13 represented as EAN-13 bar code (in this case ISBN 978-3-16-148410-0) The International Standard Book Number, ISBN, is a unique[1] commercial book identifier barcode. ... See also: 2002 in literature, other events of 2003, 2004 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Charles Michael Chuck Palahniuk (IPA: )[1] (born February 21, 1962) is an American satirical novelist and freelance journalist of Ukrainian ancestry born in Pasco, Washington. ...

Diary loosely falls into the modern horror genre, putting aside violence and shock tactics in favour of psychological scares and dark humor. Horror fiction is, broadly, fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle, or horrify the reader. ...

The audio version of Diary is narrated by actress Martha Plimpton. Plimpton at the New York premiere of Miramaxs Kill Bill: Volume 1 Martha Plimpton (born Martha Carradine on November 16, 1970, in New York City) is former model turned actress who was born to famous actor parents Keith Carradine and Shelley Plimpton. ...

Plot summary

Diary takes the form of a "coma diary" kept by a Misty Marie 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 ruins. But then, as if possessed by the spirit of Maura Kincaid, a fabled Waytansea artist of the nineteenth century, Misty begins painting again, compulsively.

Misty discovers the islanders, including her father-in-law (previously thought to be dead), are involved in a conspiracy which repeats every 4 generations. A young artist (in this case Misty) is lured to the island by old jewelry, becomes pregnant and has children. During middle age, her husband dies and all her children die resulting in a wave of creativity, the product of which is mesmerizing to the audience. The islanders then create an exhibition of the art work at the local hotel where a fire is started by Misty's daughter, who is revealed to be alive, and all the hotel's occupants are burned to death due to their mesmerization. The result is a huge insurance claim which leaves the remaining island citizens wealthy enough to support their luxuriant lifestyles for the next 4 generations at which point a new young artist will be found to repeat the cycle. Peter, Misty's husband, was attempting to warn her of this plot using his hidden writing and it is revealed his suicide attempt was in fact a murder attempt.

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