House of Leaves

by Mark Z. Danielewski

710 pages

English language

Published April 10, 2000

ISBN:: 978-0-385-60310-2
Goodreads:: 24800

(10 reviews)

House of Leaves is the debut novel by American author Mark Z. Danielewski, published in March 2000 by Pantheon Books. A bestseller, it has been translated into a number of languages, and is followed by a companion piece, The Whalestoe Letters. The plot is centered on a (possibly fictional) documentary about a family whose house is impossibly larger on the inside than the outside. The format and structure of House of Leaves is unconventional, with unusual page layout and style, making it a prime example of ergodic literature. It contains copious footnotes, many of which contain footnotes themselves, including references to fictional books, films or articles. In contrast, some pages contain only a few words or lines of text, arranged in strange ways to mirror the events in the story, often creating both an agoraphobic and a claustrophobic effect. At points, the book must be rotated to be read. The novel is also distinctive for its multiple narrators, who interact with each other in elaborate and disorienting ways. While some have attempted to describe the book as a horror story, many readers, as well as the author, define the book as a love story. Danielewski expands on this point in an interview: "I had one woman come up to me in a bookstore and say, 'You know, everyone told me it was a horror book, but when I finished it, I realized that it was a love story.' And she's absolutely right. In some ways, genre is a marketing tool." House of Leaves has also been described as a "satire of academic criticism."

1 edition

acaleyn@bookwyrm.social reviewed House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

Review of 'House of Leaves' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This is amazing. There are two narratives here, the book itself and another, squeezed haphazardly in the footnotes. I felt torn between the two narratives the whole way, impatient with the one as I was waiting to get back to the other.

The first one is by a man known as Zampanò, whose prose is exquisitely Lovecraftian. Speaking as someone who's actually reading Lovecraft at the same time, I'll say that this echoes those of his works which are most disturbing. And I mean that in the best way possible.

In between and among Zampanò's book is the other narrator, Johhnny Truant (the one who ostensibly "found" Zampanò's work), whose words are just... beautiful. Well, I say "beautiful." Mostly I mean the language is fascinating, even if what the words mean is anything but beautiful. It is a masterpiece of... not quite stream of consciousness, but nearly. Wandering, barely-connecting thoughts, but with punctuation, and occasionally coherence. It's so wandering, and full of black-ish whimsy. I love it. It's art, pure and simple.

Seriously, this book is like a Film - with a capital F, mind you - or like a goddamn surrealist avant-garde museum exhibit. Sometimes the words are upside down or backwards or slanted; often they make shapes on the pages (shapes which match the action or echo the mood); whole sentences are drawn out over several pages for effect. Everything means something, you're pretty sure - unless it doesn't, and you're just reading too much into it. Two thirds of the way through, and the storyline(s) just fell apart in my hands, crumbling into glorious madness.

And once having finished... I felt wrung out to dry.

I just... I wish he'd stop saying "alot." All I see is that bit from Hyperbole and a Half.