Liking Chuck Palahniuk's books must be akin to a Fear Factor challenge for most readers. And sometimes I can't help but wonder, what if THAT is what exactly Palahniuk wants the readers to feel about his works? Feel challenged by it, dislike it, feel disgusted or insulted by it--all of these by hurling the naked truths of human nature to the face of people in the harshest possible way?

My first Palahniuk book is Choke, and I was sort of culture shocked when I read it--a multitude of f-bombs being dropped from heavenly heights, sexually explicit situations, bitter but truthful ruminations about life. Completely different from the books I've been reading--and that's saying something because I usually go for the "dark side" of literature. I thought Choke would already build my literary panoply when it comes to his works. But I was wrong--Diary might not lie on the opposite side of the spectrum when leveled with his other works, but it's a new account of insane despair that I'm not really used to.

Diary is a story about art,and, well, the crazy reality that most desperate people live. It also tackles a Marxist concept but viewed from a strangely twisted angle. It is written mostly in the second person point of view and in the format of a 'coma diary' written by the female protagonist, Misty Wilmot. There is no subtlety in Palahniuk's style of writing, and when what he writes stabs, it stabs straight to the heart and conscience. It gets under your skin most of the time.

I will not detail everything, but I just want to say that this is a satisfying read. The Palahniuk "flavor" is exotic and dark, and it's the sort of taste that most readers will only refer to as "poison". If only everyone reads closely, the antidote to the venom of reality that Palahniuk presents in this work is also present--right between the lines.