House of Leaves

[Pleasant Nightmares]

How many here have heard of/read House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski? I swear, I am in love with this book. It's more of an art piece than a novel, really. It's about a man who, while helping to clean out the apartment of a recently deceased man, comes across a trunk of obsessive writings and research regarding a film known as "The Navidson Record." The film documents an unexplainable phenomenon -- a man's house is somehow bigger on the inside than on the outside, and over time, it expands within into a labyrinth of impossible scale.

Whether or not the film itself ever existed is unknown, and the "research" he found may be completely fictional, but the madness in the writings infects the protagonist much as it did the old man who wrote them. A story within a story within a story, and you can see the author gradually spiral into insanity on its pages. You'll never see an audio book of this one, and you have to actually see it to understand why. lol

It's beautifully done, and I'd recommend it to any horror fan. Psychological horror at its finest. Danielewski has become an idol of mine, for sure.

[TheBossInTheWall]

I've read it three times. I even remember where I bought it, like if the shelves are still the same at the Barnes and Nobles in philly I'd be able to find almost exactly where. I didn't know anything about the book besides browsing it in whichever section it was. My first copy got sort of torn up a bit due to various moves. So I have another copy. There's a forum dedicated to house of leaves, discussing hidden meanings, etc. I didn't want to read those though, would ruin things for me I think. Make the book too much of a puzzle to be solved instead of enjoyed. I've tried reading his two books after House of Leaves and found the first one I wasn't reading it right. Tried flipping the book for each monologue every 10 pages or so, but found I'd get to lost, in a difficult way, between both characters and the events listed down the middle of each page. The third one is more of a poem and I think I need to set my mind to reading it, set a specific time and day. I've heard his 4th book is huge. Haven't looked into it yet.

The best thing about House of Leaves for me is that it leaves me wondering if parts of it are real and wishing very much it all is real.

[Pleasant Nightmares]

Originally Posted by TheBossInTheWall

I've read it three times. I even remember where I bought it, like if the shelves are still the same at the Barnes and Nobles in philly I'd be able to find almost exactly where. I didn't know anything about the book besides browsing it in whichever section it was. My first copy got sort of torn up a bit due to various moves. So I have another copy. There's a forum dedicated to house of leaves, discussing hidden meanings, etc. I didn't want to read those though, would ruin things for me I think. Make the book too much of a puzzle to be solved instead of enjoyed. I've tried reading his two books after House of Leaves and found the first one I wasn't reading it right. Tried flipping the book for each monologue every 10 pages or so, but found I'd get to lost, in a difficult way, between both characters and the events listed down the middle of each page. The third one is more of a poem and I think I need to set my mind to reading it, set a specific time and day. I've heard his 4th book is huge. Haven't looked into it yet.

The best thing about House of Leaves for me is that it leaves me wondering if parts of it are real and wishing very much it all is real.

Agreed. Though, now I am curious to see that forum. But I'll need to read through it again for detail. I lent my copy to a friend, and it's been a while since I've seen it. This is one of those works that I hope they never try to make into a movie. To do so is to miss the entire point of the book.

[simonleezombie]

I really need to give this book a try again. I had a hard time with its structure, and typically I have trouble when storylines break and I am invested in one more than the other. I was definitely invested in the investigation team as they explored the house.

[brandonmfisher]

I read HOUSE OF LEAVES about two years ago. Way different from what I expected but I thought it was awesome. Very original and surreal. It's destined to be a cult classic.