'The Secret History of Twin Peaks' novel by M. Frost 10/18

[Nightsea]

Thanks Jonah I took the name from one of my favorite (very otherworldly) Angelo Badalamenti tracks from the David Lynch Archives: "Nightsea Wind"



It has been many years since I've read The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer, but one scene that still remains with me: Laura nude in the woods, being sexually provocative toward Bob. I almost want to say that it was on par with some of the strongest scenes in Fire Walk With Me... not quite, but close. It was a daring scene to include. I haven't listened to Dale Cooper: My Life, My Tapes in a long while. I remember enjoying it too, but yes, it could've used an extra helping of garmonbozia.

[LostInTheMovies]

The Secret Diary is probably the best but still not, in my opinion, quite up to the standard of the novels I'd usually read (possibly due to the fact of how young Jennifer Lynch was when she wrote it).

I think it may have more to do with the age of the character writing it! It's hard to judge it as a work of deep literature because it is supposed to read like the diary of a(n at times) 12-year-old girl, and it does. If anything, it may be a bit too sophisticated. But it really serves its purpose spectacularly, I think: allowing us to see the world as Laura sees it, after viewing her for a full season from far away, as this mythic creature. It's a really important gateway to the creation of FWWM even if David himself supposedly never read it (not sure any dad would really relish reading their daughter's graphic book about incest and sexual awakening). We know Sheryl Lee did and that it dramatically shaped her performance.

That said there are parts of the diary where things get a bit ridiculous/unconvincing. Most notably when Laura suddenly adopts a hard-boiled literary voice and Jennifer Lynch plunges into noir mode for several pages on a drug deal gone wrong. It's vaguely amusing but I'm glad Lynch reimagined Bobby's killing in the film. And near the end as the book rushes to include all these characters and references to the show it begins to lose some of the intensity. This is also when the chronology doesn't seem to work. Not only do we notice that the Diary misses the 1989 deadline but it almost feels like the pace of Laura's descent into hell is stretched out too far over the years (there are often months between entries, and the One-Eyed Jack's thing for example happens like a year or two before she dies). At the rate she goes, we'd expect her to burn out at 15 rather than 17.

The book is at its best when it's not trying to tie in so heavily with the show but just allowing itself to create a character and evoke her state of mind.

[MasterMastermind]

I agree with LostintheMovies, though I would say it's hard to compare it to a work of great literature since so much of the storytelling legwork is in the show. It's a different thing, but it works on it's own.

[Agent Sam Stanley]

Not a big fan of the Diary. Thought Scott Frost did a better job recreating Cooper's psyche in My Life, My Tapes. I could picture Cooper dictating those things, can't say the same for Laura.
I thought that most of the things in the Diary were a bit of a stretch, and not in a good way, like BOB chatting too much and Josie hitting on Laura?
I'm not really a fan of Jennifer Lynch. I think she's just not very good so she tries too much to be and doesn't really work.
But I know she has her fans and most Peaks fans were very pleased with the Diary, including Sheryl Lee herself, so who am I to judge? Lol

[Nightsea]

Now that you mention it Agent Sam Stanley, I do faintly remember Bob turning into Mr. Talky Talk. Lol. It is what it is I suppose. The book served its purpose. Was The Secret of Diary of Laura Palmer ever intended to be great literature? No– of course not. But one can definitely tell that Jennifer Lynch wasn't quite there yet in terms of writing ability, regardless of the age of the character that the book was meant to portray.

[4815162342]

Yeah, the secret diary reads like bad porno fan fiction, and the portrayal of BOB is atrocious #NotMyBOB.

[LostInTheMovies]

Ah see, I LOVE the portrayal of BOB in the book. The all-caps, profane presentation is genuinely creepy and off-putting on the page, the perfect prose analogue to the cold stares and voracious grinning of BOB on the show. It shows, as does FWWM, that BOB has deeply infiltrated her own consciousness, turning her external abuse into inner torment, and extends the idea that even if he is a spirit from the woods, he also corresponds to deep-welled psychological phenomena.

I'll take this BOB over the one that says "Coop, what happened to Josie???" (or even the one that's grimacing in the lightning in ep. 16) any day!

[Agent Sam Stanley]

Meh, I think the excessive profanity and some parts, like when Laura goes to the woods to mock BOB by masturbating under his tree are a little over the top in my opinion.
I'm not a prude, and I get Laura was wild, but I feel certain things were written just for the sake of shock.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's a bad book, I just don't see the greatness some fans see in it and I don't consider the best Peaks book.

[Nightsea]

LostInTheMovies, I must've really wanted to reply to you just now, because when I went to log in, I started typing your username instead of my own! Ha ha- funny. I do see and understand what you mentioned about the author's age. I just looked it up and apparently she was twenty-two when she wrote it? Correct me if I'm wrong on that– it's what Wikipedia mentioned, but Wikipedia isn't infallible. And by no means am I saying that she's a horrible writer. It looks like we all have mixed opinions of the book, but one thing that we can probably all genuinely agree on is that she obviously cared a great deal about her writing and did her best at the time. She put genuine effort into the book.

Stanley, that's the main scene I remember! *laughing, I'll have to go back and read the book again. I don't know. When I first read the scene, initially I found it over the top as well. But Laura as a character is over the top in a lot of ways... Now I see it as one of the more realistic moments in the book. Maybe part of it was for shock value... or perhaps the scene just organically came out that way as Jennifer was writing it. She would likely write it first without worrying too much about the reader's response to it. Which... that makes me think of what LostInTheMovies mentioned. The book worked well whenever it wasn't so restrained by elements that were pre-established in the show.

Lastly, in regard to Secret Lives, I'm curious about Major Briggs and how his fate will be handled. I don't see this character as the type to be consumed by Bob very easily.

[Rami Airola]

I'll take this BOB over the one that says "Coop, what happened to Josie???" (or even the one that's grimacing in the lightning in ep. 16) any day!

You forgot the "HAAAHHHAHHAHHAHHAAAAAAAA!" part from the quote



Yeah, although I recall being horrified when I saw the scene for the first time (at about 9-10 years old), this scene made me cringe quite a bit when I saw it again (at about 16-17 years old). I remember being scared when anticipating to see that scene again after many years, and when it happened, it was quite an awkward moment.

COOPP! WADAPPENDDUDJOUSSIIII HAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!


Which reminds me..
The memories of that scene made me very worried when watching The Missing Pieces. I have always love the "I have the fury of my own momentum" on the script and when we were finally able to see what had been left in the cutting floor, I wanted to see Bob say that line and at the same time very much hoped I wouldn't see it. I had even thought that maybe David had cut that scene to pieces because Frank wasn't able to say his lines well enough. I thought it might be something like the Josie-scene in the series. I was so glad to see that in the end that wasn't the case at all. Frank had performed that part way better than I ever had imagined.





Anyways, I love The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer. I love the portrayal of Bob in it. And yeah, I very much agree with you on the criticism too. There are parts near the end that are just plain boring to read. The style changes into something too "novel-like" and Laura doesn't feel as much of "my friend" as she feels in most of the book. I feel that Jennifer really understood what it's like to be under a massive fire of sexual passion. The idea of fire and burning when it comes to sexuality is fascinating. Even the Bible deals with it a bit "But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion." (1 Corinthians 7:9) It acknowledges the "burning" quality of sexuality, and that not being able to control this powerful force is like burning, being in flames. Laura certainly wasn't able to control herself and she was constantly invited to walk with fire.

[N. Needleman]

I stand by the BOB/LMFAP moment with Josie. I think it's so shocking and jarring to realize every dark human story links back to them or is potential prey for those forces in the woods, not just Laura. It's the last possible place you expect to see them, but it ties that errant noir plotline back into the secret heart of Twin Peaks.

[LostInTheMovies]

I stand by the BOB/LMFAP moment with Josie. I think it's so shocking and jarring to realize every dark human story links back to them or is potential prey for those forces in the woods, not just Laura. It's the last possible place you expect to see them, but it ties that errant noir plotline back into the secret heart of Twin Peaks.

Yeah, the intention behind it is somewhat admirable in that it's finally remembering the iconography that has disappeared for 6 episodes (and somewhat not admirable, as it emphatically destroys the powerful ambiguity of whether or not Bob is specifically tied to the Palmer clan). But the execution feels so clumsy even though I usually like Lesli Linka Glatter's work. The lens, composition, and lighting all contribute to a sense that nothing very scary is going on (at least for me).

[N. Needleman]

To each their own - to me, the sudden dead space, then the laugh and the hand rising up over the side of the bed creeps me out every time.

As for BOB only being tied to the Palmers, I never saw it that way so I am good with it.

[MasterMastermind]

I think it works in the beginning, but Bob's goofy dialogue and the random appearance of the Little Man really hurt it. Of course then we get the drawer knob thing which... I'm not really sure how I feel about even today.

[Jonah]

I've always loved the ending to Episode 23, hence my avatar! I think the Bob/LMFAP sequence works very well, and is atmospheric and chilling. But I can see why some may not like it as, at that point, the series had gone severely off track, and it may have come across to some as them trying too hard to put back familiar aspects of the show, recapture the Lynchian magic so to speak (especially as Josie is seen early in this episode in front of the mirror, exactly like in the pilot). I agree some of it was handled clumsily, but I've always loved it anyway, despite the poor special effects. Though I can only imagine how powerful this scene would have been if directed by Lynch. Overall, I think it's chilling but a little clumsy.

FYI, this is all also discussed a lot in the thread on Episode 23: http://www.dugpa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=2800

I stand by the BOB/LMFAP moment with Josie. I think it's so shocking and jarring to realize every dark human story links back to them or is potential prey for those forces in the woods, not just Laura. It's the last possible place you expect to see them, but it ties that errant noir plotline back into the secret heart of Twin Peaks.

I love this analysis! Well said. Agreed.