The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer
 Cover of the Pocket Book edition | |
| Author | Jennifer Lynch |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel Fictional diary |
| Publisher | Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster |
Publication date | 15 September 1990 |
| Publication place | US |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 184 |
| ISBN | 99928-828-9-1 |
The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer is a 1990 spin-off novel from the television series Twin Peaks by Jennifer Lynch.[1] Lynch, then aged 22, is the daughter of series co-creator David Lynch.[1] It was published after the airing of the first season, but before the second.
The novel is said to be "As seen by Jennifer Lynch," and is written in a matter-of-fact tone[2] from the point of view of Laura Palmer, a small-town teenager —a "good girl gone bad"[3]— who is abused and terrorized by the demonic entity BOB.[4] Lynch says she was told by her father and Mark Frost, co-creator of the series, to "be Laura Palmer,"[5] and that she "knew Laura so well it was like automatic writing."[6] The book begins on Laura's 12th birthday in 1984,[3] and steadily matures in writing style and vocabulary.[7] It recounts standard teenage concerns of her first period, her first kiss, and her relationship with her parents, alongside experiences of sexual abuse, promiscuity, cocaine addiction, and her obsession with death.[2][4] Laura's poetry foreshadows her murder.[8] Her slow realisation of BOB's identity is described, although pages are 'missing' from the end of the diary, which ends with an undated entry in late 1989,[3] leaving the reader unable to reach a firm conclusion.[4] Lynch said that "the careful reader will know the clues and who the killer is,"[5] and the killer's identity is confirmed in the second season.[4]
The book reached number four on The New York Times paperback fiction best seller list in October 1990,[9] though some US book stores refused to stock it due to the graphic content.[10] It was published in the UK by Penguin Books in November 1990.[11] Entertainment Weekly said it was "gratifyingly faithful to the spirit of Peaks."[3]
On June 10, 2011, Twin Peaks co-creator Mark Frost announced that a new edition of the diary would be published in the fall of 2011, featuring a new foreword by himself and David Lynch.[12]
See also
- List of fictional diaries
- Twin Peaks books
- List of Twin Peaks episodes#Season 2: 1990–1991, for the episode "Laura's Secret Diary"
References
- ^ a b Stanley, Alessandra (October 28, 1990). "Are the Owls What They Seem?". The New York Times.
- ^ a b Jakicic, Cathy (20 October 1990). "Spinoff book tells all, if you're the Log Lady". The Milwaukee Sentinel. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
- ^ a b c d Tucker, Ken (5 October 1990). "The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
- ^ a b c d Lavery, David (1995). Full of secrets: critical approaches to Twin Peaks. Wayne State University Press. p. 7. ISBN 0-8143-2506-8.
- ^ a b Hastings, Deborah (16 September 1990). "Book probes mind of Laura Palmer". Associated Press. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
- ^ Zekis, Rita (2 October 1990). "Laura Palmer's diarist fulfills fantasy". Toronto Star. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
- ^ Zekas, Rita (13 October 1990). "Like father, like daughter". Toronto Star. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
- ^ O'Connor, Tom. "Bourgeois Myth Versus Media Poetry in Prime -time: Re-visiting Mark Frost and David Lynch's Twin Peaks". Poetic acts & new media. University Press of America. ISBN 0-7618-3630-6.
- ^ "Paperback best sellers: October 28, 1990". The New York Times. 28 October 1990. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
- ^ "Anne Frank she ain't". The Milwaukee Journal. 27 September 1990. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
- ^ Whitney, Craig R. (8 November 1990). "'Twin Peaks': Splash on Both Sides of Atlantic; In Britain, It's All Just Beginning". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
- ^ Twitter [dead link]