"House of Leaves" by Mark Z. Danielewski

"House of Leaves" by Mark Z. Danielewski was originally published in 2000, and it was at least a couple years later that I read about it, and purchased my own copy after being very intrigued about the reviews and descriptions of the book.  It's been sitting on my bookshelf ever since, waiting for the right time to open it and begin the daunting project of reading.  At over 700 pages, it would seem to be a novel that would take quite a bit of time to finish.  And, flipping through the pages and seeing its structure adds the 'project' qualifier to the reading experience.  Every October I try to dive into books and stories of horror and the macabre, being with the spirit of the Halloween season, and so this year with October approaching, I decided to start "House of Leaves".  If I didn't like it, I'd concede and not make the presumably weeks-long investment in finishing, having given it my best shot before moving on.

One week and 709 pages later, I have finished "House of Leaves".

This novel was intriguing, scary, gripping, tedious, challenging, and a total trip of a reading experience.  It's unlike any other book I've ever read, and it will be for you as well, should you decide to take it on.

"House of Leaves" is about a house that is bigger on the inside than the outside.  (Not really like a Tardis, no...).  But not really.  It's about a movie that may or may not exist about a house that is bigger on the inside than the outside.  But, it's really about a blind man's excruciatingly-detailed analysis of the movie that may or may not exist, written as he lived inside a barricaded room, because of the movie that may or may not exist.  Er, not really.  It's about the narrator, Johnny Truant, finding the blind man's (Zampano is his name) manuscript about the movie about the house, and his descent into madness while reading and annotating Zampano's pages.  Sort of.  Ultimately it's about all of these things, and perhaps more, or perhaps less.

The book is recursive to a degree.  There are John Barth-ian elements of a book within a book, or maybe a book that is self-aware.  The book itself draws the reader in to the plot in many creative and very satisfying ways.  You will feel claustrophobic, you will experience an escape along with the characters, you will feel the influence of the house and all of its terrifying peculiarities.

Whew.

The core of the book, the story of the house and its endlessness (frequently compared to the classic labyrinth), was the most satisfying element of the novel.  An extra quarter-inch inside the house revealed concurrently with a suddenly discovered new room gets your attention.  A hallway that shouldn't exist but takes 5 1/2 minutes to traverse grabs you.  A door leading to an endless(?) spiral staircase sucks you in for good.  This central story is as good and scary as any other classic tale of horror.  It's what kept me going.

Less interesting to me was Johnny Truant's story, woven in through extended footnotes until several chapters at the end.  Although, I'm sure that Johnny's story was the actual central theme, it still didn't hold my attention as much, and I found myself working through his notes just to get back to the story of the house.

Every reader of "House of Leaves" is likely to have a different experience.  It's a masterwork of vision by the author, and makes the reader a true participant in the story as no other.

There are many different editions of "House of Leaves".  Fonts, color, and printing abnormalities are essential to the story, as you'll see in the following pictures.  The first two are representative of my edition.  The third is from a more deluxe edition, with additional colors and crazy printing.

"House of Leaves" is an adventure.  Its 709 pages went by much faster than I ever imagined they could.  If you're up for a challenge, check it out.