The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer

by Jennifer Lynch

Laura Palmer was introduced to television audiences in the opening scenes of "Twin Peaks"--as a beautiful dead girl, wrapped in plastic. Now available in print for the first time in many years (and in e-book for the very first time!), THE SECRET DIARY OF LAURA PALMER chronicles Laura's life from age 12 to her death at 17, and is filled with secrets, character references, and even clues to the identity of her eventual killer.  Fans of the show will love seeing their favorite characters again, and Laura's diary makes compelling reading as she turns from a naive freshman having her first kiss to a "bad girl" experimenting with drugs, sex and the occult.
"As seen by" Jennifer Lynch, creator David Lynch's daughter, THE SECRET DIARY OF LAURA PALMER is authentic, creepy, and a perfect book for anyone who loves supernatural suspense.

Genres: Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Film, Audiobook, Crime

184 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1990

About the author

Jennifer Chambers Lynch is an American film director and screenwriter. She is the daughter of artist and filmmaker David Lynch.

Reviews

[robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

at least once every few years i have to get really weird about laura palmer or they’ll take my ambiguous disorder card away

[A.K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously not for Twin Peaks non-fans. Ms. Lynch isn't the most lucid writer--no shit, she's a Lynch--but WHOOOO CARES. The teenie bop pathos, weirdo sex and hints of a complicated spirituality are a bit trashy and all magic. And while the mystery of woman-child Laura Palmer was a focal point of the show, having Laura speak on Laura was satisfying. I loved loved loved that Lynch gave us Laura's realization that the people in her life project their shit onto her, and that she both gets off on this fact and hates it: far more self-awareness than most tragic teen darlings seem allowed. I wish that this book was a bit more developed, maybe featuring a bit more Audrey Horne, whom I helplessly love, but I know I'm going to read this multiple times.

[karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

ONLY TWO MORE HOURS, GUYS!!

TWELVE HOURS UNTIL NEW TWIN PEAKSES!!!

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

My uncle gave me this for Xmas when I was like 11 years old. Thank god he didn't read the first ten pages.

[Jess ❈Harbinger of Blood-Soaked Rainbows❈ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read a book that was turned into a TV show (or really, based on a TV show in this case. Tomato Tomahto.)

PRE REVIEW

So I went to work today after the crappiest, crappiest day yesterday and one of the waitresses runs up to me with this book and this book and told me she got drunk a few weeks ago and drunkenly ordered them for me because she knew I wanted them so bad. There are still good people on this planet! And it totally made my night. I cried. Seriously. This gift made me cry. At work. People actually mistook me for a girl. A girl with a heart. Then I told somebody to go fuck off. And I was back. And the universe was right again.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We promise that something is forever, when it is really only as long as it takes for us to tire of it.

I'm really upset that I can't give this book more than 3 stars. Because I just can't. Can't do it. As much as I adore (or used to adore) Laura Palmer. This book just doesn't do anything for my love of this show and this world. And I needed to let this book sit and stew in my head before rating or reviewing it because I don't want this book to ruin the show's magic (particularly since it's coming back next year! HAPPY DANCE)

For most of you who know me or at the least have read my profile (or you know, looked at my avatar on here) you will know that I absolutely adore EVERYTHING associated with the sheer brilliance that is Twin Peaks. It is my favorite show ever and nothing else has even remotely come close to it (not even my beloved Walking Dead. Sorry Reedus......nothing personal). The characters of Twin Peaks are as real to me as people who actually exist. My alias is Audrey Horne for crying out loud. (Seriously. Siri knows me as "Audrey.")


But this book......it just.....doesn't......work. It lacks the world building that the show renders effortlessly. And it lacks the complexity and the macabre threads that tie that show together. In a nutshell, what it lacks is David Lynch.


I love what it tries to do. To give a voice to a character whose voice we never really got to hear on the show. I loved Laura Palmer. I loved the complexity of her life, the layers and layers of mystery and glamour and foolery that came out as the investigation into her death unraveled. Laura's secret diary was a clutch on the show and I dunno, reading it just kinda took all that complexity and mystery and stigma away. It didn't make me sympathize more with Laura. It made me dislike Laura.


Sometimes what makes something wonderful and brilliant is the not knowing: the sense of mystery and drama and intrigue of not knowing totally what's going on. And that is why the show worked so well. This book just revealed too much of Laura, and I hated her voice. She was whiny and pretentious and awful and treated the people around her horribly. But there was still this sense of "feel sorry for me" that I hated. It made me thankful for what I knew would be Laura's end. I much preferred the film "Fire Walk With Me" which followed Laura in her last weeks before her death. The macabre stylings of David Lynch made that film stand out from this book which was confusing and disjointed and too.....ordinary.....to fit into the town of Twin Peaks. And the easter eggs about characters I loved and followed were too obvious and didn't really jive with the story. Except for one time in the beginning when Laura is talking about her encounter with Margaret, The Log Lady.


Anything with the Log Lady is good juicy information.

I guess there is such as thing as "be careful what you wish for cause you might just get it." Because I wanted this book so bad and now that I've read it, I wish I'd just let my imagination do the trick.

Imagination. That is what is lacking here. Way too much telling and not enough left up to your interpretation. I could have conversation after conversation after conversation lasting hours and days and months and years about the TV show because there are just so many stones to turn over and investigate. Plus there was a little too much crossover with "Fire Walk with Me" and I preferred the way the movie did it. To put it bluntly, Jennifer Lynch just isn't her father. She does not have his mind or imagination or wacky crazy sense of world building which was needed here. Much needed. And though the whole thing wasn't entirely bad (it did have some nice bits of writing here and there and nice insights into the world, also here and there) it was more of a disappointment than anything.

So I guess I'm glad I read it because it is in the Twin Peaks world but I'm not chomping at the bit to read it again. Watch the much better film instead. Plus the film has Lil.


And the man himself.


And a much better (and more likable) Laura Palmer.

2.5 stars rounded up (because Twin Peaks).

[Gitte · Rating 4 out of 5]

My life is whatever the other person in the room wants it to be.
- Laura Palmer


I would recommend this book to: Fans of Twin Peaks and / or people interested in troubled teenage girls, the subconscious and horror.
The Beginning: Dear Diary, My name is Laura Palmer, and as of just three short minutes ago, I officially turned twelve years old!

I finished the Twin Peaks series a few weeks ago and loved every single episode. Imagine how intrigued I was to learn that there was a Laura Palmer diary written – or seen – by Jennifer Lynch (daughter of David Lynch).

Reading Laura Palmer’s secret diary (as you might remember, she kept two diaries in the series) was quite an experience. So heart-breaking and disturbing. I kept thinking “that poor girl”, wishing I could somehow help her.

The writing was really clever and hit the tone of a young teenage girl, switching between ordinary girl-stuff to horrifying feelings that no girl (or boy) should go through. And all within a few lines! Just take a look at the picture below:



Throughout Twin Peaks, Laura Palmer is a mystery to us: The perfect straight A student whose double life is revealed to us in glimpses. It was fascinating finally getting her side of the story, but horrifying to see how her life was ruined by people she should have been able to trust. It was like a darkness growing inside her, slowly eating her from the inside, manipulating her, making her feel shameful, dirty and isolated. She’s a young girl whose life is stolen from her long before she’s killed:

I am trapped inside a part of me I hate. A hard, masculine part of myself that has surfaced to fight, after small memories and scars come out of me with a suddenness that is sobering as well as horrifying – and I fight to save the Laura I wish I could be again. The one everyone thinks is still around. Me in a sundress, hair in the wind, and a smile engraved into my cheeks by the sharp fear that a man may visit me at any moment this evening and try to kill me.

And BOB – or what he represents – was just as scary in Laura’s diary as in the series. Now we get the perspective of one who’s actually dealing with BOB first hand, someone whose life and mind is ruined by him/it. Laura’s “conversations” with BOB and her attempts to get him out of her head were one of the most horrifying things I’ve ever read.



I’ve given the book 4 solid stars, because I think it’s perfect within its genre. So many things could have gone wrong, but never did. The book did the TV series justice but still stood strong as a work on its own. Twin Peaks experts have pointed out some inconsistencies in the book, but I didn’t notice any – but then again, I’ve only seen the entire series one time, so I guess I can’t be classified as a “real” fan. The only thing that bothered me was that it seemed a bit rushed towards the end, that too many characters were introduced at once and that things happened a bit too fast compared to how it started. And that’s what keeps it from being a 5-star read.



I just discovered another Twin Peaks spin-off: The Autobiography Of F.B.I. Special Agent Dale Cooper: My Life, My Tapes. I HAVE to check this one out … I’ve got a bit of a crush on Dale Cooper …

For more reviews, please visit my blog The Bookworm's Closet

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark, haunting, and sad. Can’t wait to read this again.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

So, my friend Rusty insisted that I read this after I watched Twin Peaks and admitted to him my temporary obsession with it. Rusty's the biggest Twin Peaks fan I know, so I thought he'd surely have a suggestion for a book (or series) I could love as much as Twin Peaks. I had no idea that this book existed, so I immediately downloaded it to my Kindle on his suggestion and put off watching the prequel movie to the series because he swore that I had to read this first.

I'd been trying to figure out what made me enjoy Twin Peaks so much, and I think it's this:
1. As many quirky characters as psychotic characters and straight characters.
2. Memorable catch phrases and objects ("the owls are not what they seem", coffee, doughnuts, cherry pie)
3. Mystery, the unknown, dreams, and a 6th sense
4. Great music (rarely relevant in a book)
5. Good looking actors and actresses that were mainly perfectly cast (only relevant if a book becomes a movie)

I think that, above all, I enjoyed the characters in the television series, but this book didn't hold up to the series at all. It was written by David Lynch's daughter to fill in the gaps about the secret life of Laura Palmer. And I suppose that it does that, but it really doesn't have any of what made the television series a cult classic. All the characters in the book are fairly loathsome. There weren't any quirky items or memorable catch phrases. And The "mysterious" was simply sinister and evil. I suppose that if you get your kicks reading about a 15-year-old, orgy-having coke addict who is haunted by an evil spirit, then this book is for you. Personally, I didn't find a shred of interest in it and only held out to continue reading it because I thought there might be a secret to the series revealed within. And if that's your hope, don't bother. There's really nothing new here.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished the audio version. Utterly amazing!

So when Sheryl Lee was going to be at the Twin Peaks festival I bought another copy of this book to have her sign. She wasn't there but after watching Fire walk with me again on Sunday in the cinema I decided to read the novel again. I started yesterday afternoon, took a break for a play, and then finished it last night. I think it's still one of the saddest books of an abused child growing up. Laura spends so much of her time thinking that she's bad and deserves what happens to her. That people won't like her or understand her if they knew what she was really like. In the book Jennifer lets out all her secrets, everything that she does, the prostitution, the drugs, and you find yourself loving her for her vulnerability and confusion. It's much easier to feel sympathy for the messed up Laura than it is the perfect homecoming queen.

This was a novelisation written when Twin Peaks was being aired to give the back-story of Laura Palmer and her dealings with BOB. It was written by Lynch's daughter. I read it when I was 17 and found it more full of sex and drugs, polyamoury and bondage than any book I’d read up till that point. Then I found it a truly tragic story about a girl who’d been abused by her father and the effects this had on her, and how she struggled and failed to be “normal”. What shocked me the most was what she was doing at such a young age. I didn’t consider myself to be particularly sheltered, but my life was a million times removed from anything like that. A few months ago I started watching Twin Peaks again, and found myself once more obsessing over Laura Palmer. So I was able to track down an electronic copy of the book and read it again. This time I found it much less shocking, being much older and having led a reasonably decedent life, but it was still very much a tragic tale. Tragic because Laura felt that she was such a freak because she had been so victimised and was unable to cope with that as the abuse was continual. (I think the story works with either her father, or her father possessed by BOB either way it’s terrifying). But once again I felt well and truly dragged into the story and great compassion and sympathy for Laura.

[Jordan West · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haven't read this in ages, but gets 3 stars as a reminder of my first discovery of David Lynch and his television masterpiece circa 7th grade; the thrill of watching it for the first time, on video cassettes checked out from the local library episode by episode, happily surrendering afternoons and weekends to the magic, menace, and sublime mystery of Twin Peaks. I would not finish both seasons until years later, but the memory of that initial viewing has the potential to imprison me in nostalgia like an insect in amber. My younger brother remembers watching along with me while sick on the couch, his feverish mind haunted by visions of BOB, but Twin Peaks has never ceased haunting me either; like Cooper in the lodge, I will never finish exploring, never escape its mysterious depths.

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Niente male davvero questo spin-off di una delle più belle serie tv di tutti i tempi se non si tiene conto della recente e deludente stagione evento del 2017: cast stellare, qualche buon momento, ma il resto è un vero disastro secondo me.



Una lettura convincente (si ha davvero l'impressione di stare sbirciando dentro al diario di una ragazza tra i 12 ed i 17 anni durante il passaggio dall'adolescenza alla maturità), avvincente (ho divorato il libro in due serate), e parecchio disturbante (la discesa della giovane Laura nell'abisso della dipendenza da cocaina, il sesso, le atmosfere malsane e gli abusi di BOB e compagnia bella  sono qualcosa di terrificante).



Jennifer Lynch, figlia di David, è riuscita a rendere davvero bene su carta il personaggio di Laura Palmer, con tutto il suo carico di rabbia, paura ed autolesionismo: non a caso Sheryl Fenn, l'attrice che interpretava Laura Palmer, pare che abbia imparato a memoria questo libro e che non se ne separava mai sul set di Fuoco cammina con me, film prequel di Twin Peaks che racconta gli ultimi sette giorni di vita della ragazza.



Qualche difettuccio c'è: BOB sembra un po' troppo chiacchierone, la rapina con sparatoria ai danni degli spacciatori nei bassifondi mi è parsa ridicola, alcune parti come le rivelazioni di Laura quale ideatrice del servizio carrelli per i pasti di Norma e la sua seduzione di Josie mi sono sembrate frettolose e quasi infilate a forza alla fine, e del povero James si parlerà si e no una riga in tutto il diario, ma nulla che in fin dei conti infici troppo sul risultato finale.



Non male davvero per una novelization tratta da un prodotto televisivo, è stato un vero piacere per me ritrovare i personaggi di una delle mie serie preferite di sempre (la Signora Ceppo che parla alla giovane Laura è un momento da antologia) ed aver dato un'occhiata più approfondita al lato oscuro della cittadina di Twin Peaks ed essermi perso nuovamente nei boschi che la circondano, con la colonna sonora di Angelo Badalamenti che mi riecheggiava nella testa per tutto il tempo.



Sarebbero state tre stelline e mezzo, ma l'easter egg nascosto tra le iniziali dei partner con cui Laura è andata a letto ha arrotondato a quattro il voto finale: D. L. e M. F. non sono altro che David Lynch e Mark Frost.



Geniale.
 

[Linda B · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK, so I'm a pretty big Twin Peaks fan, so I'd thought I'd read Laura Palmer's "diary." I wish I could say I loved it, but I actually was really disturbed and/or annoyed by it instead.

Laura Palmer is a young girl of 12 when the diary starts, and she is getting to third base with 22 year old men. She hasn't even had her period, but somehow these men are sucking on her breasts...of a 12 year old? I was really disgusted by this scene and felt like I was reading kiddie porn. I guess this is just supposed to let the reader know how much Laura was messed up/suffering from the sexual abuse of her father, but come on! It was a bit too much...

Also, there were too many discrepancies between this book and the movie/series. Obviously the only people who are going to read this book are Twin Peaks fans, so why weren't certain facts checked?? Hello, Shelly was NOT married to Leo at the age of 14, ridiculous. There were lots of other little things, but whatever. I just felt kinda dirty after reading this book, but maybe I'm just a prude.

[Anto M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A volte penso di aver qualcuno dentro, ma è un’altra parte di me, più strana. A volte la vedo nello specchio."

Un diario appassionante e inquietante.
La lettura del libro ha senso, chiaramente, per chi come me, è stato un fan della serie Twin Peaks.
Una lettura veloce che chiarisce alcuni punti "fumosi" del telefilm. Jennifer Linch ci porta alla scoperta dei segreti non solo di Laura, ma dell'intera cittadina, di retroscena malati e perversi che chiariscono la discesa verso il baratro di una ragazzina che nasconde, dietro falsi sorrisi, tumulti interiori e dolore.

[Alex Doenau · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lurid nightmare.

It's impossible to recommend this book to people who haven't bathed in the waters of Twin Peaks, and difficult to recommend it to those who watch the show only for the sweetness of the pie and not the bitterness of the coffee.

The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer, written by David Lynch's daughter Jennifer (the post-series diary of Dale Cooper was written by Mark Frost's brother Scott; the whole saga is a family affair), is a vivid piece that covers the evolution of Laura from a troubled twelve year old girl to a point just before her murder. Lynch's handle on the voice of Laura as she grows and changes is a large part of the book's success; it's impressive, and justifiably noticeable rather than a subtle approach.

This offers a different side of Twin Peaks, told without the intervention of network censors, more in line with what Fire Walk With Me would become. It's easy to see why the book sold well, coming as it did two weeks before the premiere of the second season, when excitement was still at fever pitch, but it's hard to imagine your average Joe coming away from it with anything but a growing sense of discomfort.

There's a lot of sex here, literally none of it wholesome, and you get a deeper grasp on Laura than perhaps either season of the show would end up revealing. Incomprehensible without familiarity with the show, there's a compelling and disturbing undertow that threatens to drown the reader in the details. Large swathes of material are missing towards the end, making you wonder if Lynch had written and redacted them or if they were never completed.

More of a tchotchke than a literary supplement, The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer is exactly the sort of book that has a high chance of turning you off, but if it draws you in, it draws you right in.

[Ben Loory · Rating 3 out of 5]

been meaning to read this for about twenty years, and found it sitting by the register at my favorite used bookstore for 2 bucks the other day... seemed like a sign... it's actually a pretty good read, totally convincing as a young girl's diary, pretty disturbing at times, with a lot of really memorable scenes, and definitely took me right back to twin peaks and all the time i spent watching and thinking about the show. as it went on, however, it seemed to unravel a bit... got to a point where it definitely seemed they were just throwing in references to other people in town like they were checking names off a list... gotta hit this, mention that, check check check check... and of course the story doesn't really work on its own, it just kind of fades away and ends. still, though, an interesting read, i'm glad i finally got around to it.

probably be getting out the gold box again soon...

B eware
O f
B ob

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer is set in and based on characters and events appearing in the fictional town of Twin Peaks in the eponymous television show that ran on ABC for two seasons (1990-91). Where the television show mixed together generic conventions of soap opera, police and crime drama, as well as comedy and horror, The Secret Diary is primarily a work of horror (in this respect, the book much more closely resembles the 1992 prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me than it does the quirky television show).

In these pages, Laura Palmer, a high schooler, writes of the depredations visited upon her by a malevolent force who abuses her both sexually and emotionally. She becomes addicted to drugs and sexually promiscuous; nonetheless, there is a part of her that resists corruption, reflected in some of the benevolent projects she takes on, for example starting a Meals on Wheels program for the town's shut-in residents.

While this book supplies additional backstory for a few characters in the television show (most notably the diarist herself, who is already dead and "wrapped in plastic" as the first episode of the television series begins), it does not answer any major questions raised by the show (rather, many of the questions the book raises are answered in the show).

I think it works pretty well as a work of horror. It is explicit in a way that broadcast television could not be. At times, it seemed reminiscent of some of Stephen King's work; I was also reminded of Kathy Acker's Blood and Guts in High School, which also employs a diaristic form to represent the story of the sexual abuse of a young woman.

It is worth pointing out that this book has a stamp of authority inasmuch as its author, Jennifer Lynch, is the daughter of David Lynch who, along with Mark Frost, was a co-creator of the television series, as well as director of the prequel film: one supposes that the director acted as a resource / editor for his daughter during the writing process, and that he made suggestions as to things to be included in the book, as well as changes to the text.

In terms of Twin Peaks "canon," the dates in the book do not align with those in the television show / film. To take the most obvious example, while in the series and movie the murder of Laura takes place on February 23, 1989, a late entry in the diary is dated October 31, 1989, and is followed by several more entries that are undated, but that were presumably written later.

Acquired Feb 14, 2019
Gift from Jenn

[nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

"𝘔𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦."

Curiosity killed the cat, and sometimes too fast. Simple roadkill.

Built for 𝘛𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 fans, this switchfoot mock-diary is a fun one, picking at the teen acne of sex, death, and dreams. Though there are no answers, it goes to show that the world of 𝘛𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 is more fungal in nature than we’d like to admit.

The only fault of the book is the breakage of magic when the diary loses its form to inconsistencies in presentation and format. There are moments when Bob intrudes and recollections of dialogue that overpower the voice of diary that leaks validity in what is already compelling in knowing too much about Laura herself.

A quick crunch with plenty to wonder about in all of Laura’s filthy teen spirit.

[Brianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not recommended for the under-10 crowd. Ahem, mother? Yes, I watched Twin Peaks as a child. I also bought the book and had the t-shirt. And I'm pretty sure I was the only fifth-grader wearing a "You are a stranger here but once" shirt displaying the infamous "Welcome to Twin Peaks, population 51,201" sign. Was Lynch avant-garde in those lonely, pre-teen years? I would say so. (It's funny that not even any of the teachers confronted me about it, either. But that probably says more about our pool of public school teachers.) Did it prime me for a few years of reading trashy (but with some educational merit) trade paperbacks by Dean Koontz or the Clan of the Cave Bear series until Auel's endless descriptivism bored my ten year old brain enough to put childish things away? Perhaps. But, on the other hand, without Twin Peaks my delicate childhood mind wouldn't have been forever addled by the artistry of one David Lynch, whose dark comedy helped shape my psyche.

[Dylan]

Not sure how to review this to be honest. I don’t like giving something like this a rating so I ain’t going to do that. All I say if your a fan of the twin peaks shows, I would highly recommend reading this novel? ( diary). We experience the highs and lows of Laura life. From an impressionable 12 years old girl to 16 years old. This is definitely an uncomfortable read, which is why it’s taken so long to read this as I been reading this in bite sizes. Canon or not canon that depends on you I guess ? Though David Lynch gave it his blessing and people involved gave it their blessing so I am going to assume it’s canon. This novel is uncomfortable because it sets out what it intents extremely well, all the private thoughts of a young women, especially Laura Palmer. This actually does develop the characters from the original series more in my opinion. Not only Laura character but also Bobby. In conclusion, I will say it achieves what it intents really well, Laura felt like a real person prior and now even more so seeing her private thoughts. I would say if your into audiobooks I would probably recommend that over reading it physically. The actress for Laura Palmer does the narration for this novel and the performance is heart wrenching and beautiful she definitely on her A game. It just makes everything feel even more alive than just reading it.

[Rachel Bea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laura Palmer's diary has been transcribed for your reading pleasure!

That is, it if you get pleasure from her sexual deviance, trauma, nightmares, coke binges, cruelty...

As a huge Twin Peaks fan, I thought this "diary" was authentic to Laura Palmer. It's more similar to Fire Walk With Me (the Twin Peaks film) than the series, as it traces Laura's life from her 12th birthday to a few days before her death. Interestingly, the diary was first published in 1990, right between the show's two seasons. Fire Walk With Me premiered in 1992.

People who never watched Twin Peaks might not be interested in this book, but on the other hand it could be a neat introduction to the characters. It doesn't actually reveal who BOB is, so you can read this book without having seen all the episodes from the show.

I thought the book did a great job in what it was supposed to do: Give Laura greater depth, flesh out the BOB character, and show a deeper, darker look into the town of Twin Peaks.

[Dora Santos Marques · Rating 5 out of 5]

A minha opinião em vídeo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFAO7...

Foi a série que mais me marcou e a melhor de sempre, na minha opinião.
Não vale a pena ler este livro, sem ter visto a série "Twin Peaks" pois não vão entender nada.
Este livro são os 7 dias antes do assassinato da Laura Palmer.

[Federica ~ Excusetheink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anche 3,5⭐
Lettura sconsigliatissima a chi non ha mai visto un fotogramma di Twin Peaks, ma sembra un diario vero e proprio.
Per nulla al mondo mi sarei persa le facce di David mentre leggeva e approvava il manoscritto della figlia, qui poco più grande di Laura.

[Noelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well… I’m depressed.

[Sammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, Jennifer Lynch.

It bears repeating: Oh, Jennifer Lynch.

The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer is at turns wonderful and hilarious. As a hardcore Twin Peaks nerd, of course I love it. The book tells us what the series could only ever imply: that Laura was not just a rape survivor (er... former survivor), but a girl who had been consistenly abused since childhood.

(Obviously, if you haven't seen Twin Peaks, don't read on)

This is an utterly bizarre book, as befits the life of a girl from this peculiar town. At times, we get insight into the heartbreaking downward spiral of Laura Palmer, and the terror of her existence, not to mention the most wonderful moments which are those peaks into the mundanity that comes from being an old hand at this lifestyle. Sometimes, she just genuinely is bored with these men, and these drugs, and reverts to a robotic, childlike state.

The other side of this book is one of purple prose, and needlessly erotic encounters between Laura and seemingly every member of the town (*coughBlackiecough*). The book also does nothing to dispel the series' biggest question: how in the name of BOB did Laura manage to become homecoming queen, tutor residents in English, serve meals to the elderly, mentor a mentally handicapped man, and attend eight hours of school a day, even as she juggled two serious boyfriends, a half-dozen extra men, run cocaine, and still have time to jet off to far-flung parts of the state for threesomes with Teresa Banks?

I love this book both because and in spite of the flaws in Lynch's writing style. After all, David Lynch is nothing if not a melodramatist, he just submerges this below layers of unsettling suburban paranoia and tracking-shots of phone cords. But would I recommend this to anyone who doesn't know the series, and like it? Absolutely not.

[Pinkerton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il libro parte benissimo, un autentico diario che ci mette al corrente degli aspetti più intimi e segreti della malaugurata protagonista di Twin Peaks. Credo che ogni appassionato della serie leggerebbe con gran trasporto la prima parte del volume che ci mostra aspetti sinora sconosciuti di Laura Palmer: una ragazzina che ha scelto di adottare un comportamento dissoluto e autodistruttivo, per costruirsi una sorta di armatura all’interno della quale potesse sentirsi al sicuro dal famigerato BOB, che pure qui fa qualche fugace - ma non per questo meno inquietante - apparizione.
Il problema è proprio la condotta dell’autrice del diario che ad un certo punto preme troppo sull’acceleratore, abbandonandosi ad eccessi inverosimili (nonostante la connotazione sovrannaturale di Twin Peaks). Una girandola di eventi che vogliono rimarcare fortemente la versione ‘bad girl’ ma che in realtà non fanno altro che renderla grottesca. Primo perché di certe cose sarebbe stato impossibile non accorgersene, secondo perché si ripete nello “spararle davvero grosse”.
Peccato, se ci si fosse limitati di più al diario e al suo contesto nel titolo, e meno al voler sconvolgere il lettore con peccaminose avventure libertine in ogni senso, ne sarebbe uscito un buon lavoro. Risultato finale 3 stelle, probabilmente influenzato dal mio attaccamento alla serie TV più che per il merito qualitativo di questo scritto.

P.S.
Un po’ mi spiace che, per forza di cose, nella traduzione italiana abbiano dovuto adattare diversamente l’avvertimento presente nel nome del malvagio. Dall’originale:

in:
B. BOB
O. ORRIBILE
B. BESTIA
Se non ricordo male.
A mio avviso potevano riportarlo così com’era, magari aggiungendo una nota per la traduzione a piè pagina.

[Stephanie Graves · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fascinating, surreal, disturbing book. It's a tie in for Twin Peaks, obviously, so probably wouldn't mean much to a non-fan, but as a fan I have to say this book is really engrossing. It's Laura from Laura's POV, which you never get in the show since she is found dead "wrapped in plastic" in the first episode.

If anything, it makes everything going on with Laura even more insidious, more terrifying, especially when you know who BOB is while you are reading it. Truly haunting.

[Nesellanum · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent companion piece to the show. Provides quite a bit of exposition and information about this deeply troubled character and the malignant underbelly of the seemingly innocent town of Twin Peaks.

Jennifer has done an incredible job of capturing Laura’s inner thoughts; it feels very authentic to the character and the atmosphere of the show.

[Chantal · Rating 3 out of 5]

After 30 years I am rereading this book. I found it a very blurred story about addiction/abuse and leading up to that weird sexual behaviour. A very dark story and nothing liked how I remembered it.

[John Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Twin Peaks" is such a manifold masterpiece of a show that the thought of Laura Palmer having a diary or anything about it being distributed as an explanation of it would, I thought, be revealing too much. It isn't. A Baudelariean tale of a girl being devoured by her personal demons, she manages to be interesting and human at the same time as BOB, the disembodied spirit of a serial killer, rapes her soul.

How steadily Laura descends from being a nice girl with at the same time "black insides and black organs" as she herself describes it is chilling but somehow believable. The occult? dictation she receives from BOB, which stands for B. Beware O. of B. BOB is strangely juxtaposed with her determination to be a social queen, and this slowly falls apart. By the end of her diary, she is about to go to a Halloween party and writes: "No mask was necessary". She spends most of her time people pleasing, but this just works against her. Jennifer Lynch preserves the mystery of this person, the central figure in Twin Peaks without even being alive. The Doctor is the only immune to the Laura effect, and Sheriff Dawson to an extent. David Lynch took the absurdity of a soap opera, with their shallow figures and bizarre one dimensionality, and fashioned a weird genius out of them.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

You probably have to be a hard-core twin peaks fan to really appreciate this book, otherwise, it will just seem twisted. It is twisted but along with the tv show, it takes on a very dark beauty and becomes a necessary piece of the twin peaks puzzle. My copy has passages that are highlighted because so many of the diary entries read like poetry. Yes, it is supposedly "written" by a troubled teen-age girl, but it doesn't read like that, it goes way beyond while maintaining the illusion.