"The Secret History of Twin Peaks" by Mark Frost (published 2016)

Twin Peaks, that quaint, quiet small town in Washington State that went a bit off the rails after the death - murder, to be more precise - of the town's sweetheart, Laura Palmer, is, as we know, a *fictional* place created from the minds of David Lynch and Mark Frost at the end of the '80s and early '90s. What Mark Frost ingeniously presents us with in The Secret History of Twin Peaks (published 2016) is a slew of documents from diaries, reports and transcripts from the FBI and CIA, detective photographs, military (especially the U.S. Air Force and Navy) notes and letters, psychiatric files, newspaper clippings, and all sorts of other case files which locate Twin Peaks in a larger, global arena, with the intent to show how this small town is linked to the bigger picture in myriad ways. The whole of Secret History is written by an unknown Archivist, whose footnotes and endnotes, prefaces and epilogues throughout help us uncover the mystery surrounding Laura Palmer, her immediate family, friends, and acquaintances during her short life, and expands further to show how many people from the town who knew Laura and who came to know her have various histories as well, many tied to the political, scientific, investigative and those specifically holding different positions within law enforcement, all of which are part of the graphical region known as the United States of America.

The Archivist is revealed at the end, and for those who love the show as I do, you'll be happy to know the narrator is a trustworthy source. Revealing footnotes and endnotes are throughout the book as well, by another Special Agent who fans will meet in latest season of Twin Peaks (which I actually have not even seen yet. But I will very soon). 

Much of the Secret History borders on truth and fact. There is information here about Nixon, the Watergate Scandal, UFO sitings, hippie subcultures that veer into Scientology, real people such as L. Ron Hubbard and Alastair Crowley, mention of Dick Cheney... all while mixed in with the fictional characters of Twin Peaks, including the newcomer Special Agent Dale Copper, revealing their personal lives and family histories and how these merge with historical fact... and historical conjecture and fiction. Included within this web is mythology and fable, much from what we consider indigenous cultures or else those artifacts left over from prehistory. This shouldn't surprise you if you're a real fan of the show, like I am. What will be surprising is the depth at which Frost creates this larger world by weaving in parts into a mechanism that some might like to call a nation.

It's a fabulous book that is as authentic as it gets: all the documents look real. Everything is written by typewriter, as was appropriate for the time period, except the archivists notes, who would be writing sometime after the beginning of the 21st century. In real life I associate documents like these with a nostalgia not belonging to me, a history of the U.S.A. that I've no part of, or else documents from my parents which is a just a mess pile of garbage to sift through (though I know, not garbage at all) but something about Twin Peaks and this book makes me see official documents like these without paranoia and anxiety. And no - decidedly NOT because I know this is a fiction. I feel calm and relaxed to see these documents in their paling, yellowing, crumpled, greenish, typewritten, signed and officially sealed, handwritten, etc. etc. form because they are extremely *organized* and made into a comprehensive book. The book neither has a beginning nor end - which makes sense, it's riffing off of the show - but this is brilliant because in that way it's like a fairy-tale, a once upon a time sort of deal that gives its spectral presence in its scheme of things due notice. You'll have to watch the show and read the book to really catch my meaning and I really hope you do.

All fans of TP will obsess over this book. Highly recommended. It's mind-blowing, fun, scary, odd, funny, and moving beyond belief.