House of Leaves

[Johnichi Chiba]

Mark Z. Danielewski's

House Of Leaves¹
by
Zampanò



with introduction and notes by
Johnny Truant​

__________________________________________________
1. Discuss the novel here.²
2. This is an amazing piece of work that provides an essay examining the strange documentary, The Navidson Record, with footnotes by a fellow reader named Johnny Truant who also reveals a bit of his mysterious past. When you finish the novel, you'll feel as though you've lived through the horrific events in the house. Its definitely a recommended read.

 

[Immortalfire]

 

[Johnichi Chiba]

you'll get it if you read the book...

I just wanted to make a discussion thread on the book (THE best book I have ever read) and decided to do it creatively by incorporating the style into the thread's first post. I guess its not that well known though...

 

[Immortalfire]

 

[bored]

I've not read it, though I've heard the Poe album (she's his sister) that loosely corresponds.

 

[Johnichi Chiba]

I've not read it, though I've heard the Poe album (she's his sister) that loosely corresponds.

yeah, I haven't listened to the album, but I can see how a book like this could've inspired his sister to make an entire album based on it.

oh and happy birthday.

 

[Laa Dee Dah]

It's a HELL of a good book.

It's a little difficult to follow if you aren't a big reader though as it's really convoluted prose.

 

[Riven]

I've read it twice already, one of my all-time favorite novels!

 

[Darthphere]

Does it have pictures?

 

[Riven]

Does it have pictures?

Actually, yes. There are some photograhps and sketches in the back of the book, illustrating or clarifying some events that happen in the story. But other than that, it's a novel, not a "picture book" or anything.

 

[Darthphere]

Actually, yes. There are some photograhps and sketches in the back of the book, illustrating or clarifying some events that happen in the story. But other than that, it's a novel, not a "picture book" or anything.

I only look at pretty pictures.

 

[Riven]

tssssk...

 

[Johnichi Chiba]

There are soooo many layers to the characters and behind the house, its crazy. Also, has anyone heard anything about Danielewski's new novel? I forget what its called but I'm looking forward to it.

 

[kypade]

Ok, I had been hearing about this book for, well, a couple years anyway, mainly on message boards and the like, but the way it was described always made me kinda hesitant to read it...I'm not really a fan of horror, I tend to like real human characters and interactions/situations. Somewhere along the line I had given the title "House of Leaves" a similar connotation to Palahniuk's "Guts." (A story I still refuse to read (and I've kinda sorta picked up enough about it to know this is the right choice)). Needless to say, I never looked it up at Barnes and Noble.

Until now. It's summer and it has been a /long/ time since I've read any good books, and recently this title came up again. I looked into it a little more and talked a little with someone, and somehow convinced myself to finally read it. So, I just bought it last night and will start shortly.

The reason I'm bumping this thread (one of only two mentions of the book a superherohype google site search brings up), is because I'm sure more of you have read it and am interested in hearing more thoughts. Does anyone not like it? Is it really that good? Is it scary, horror-gore-movie scary or more psychological-thriller-mind-****-movie scary? Stuff like that.

Tx,

 

[Colossal Spoons]

What kinda cryptic book is this. I feel like you're all talking Spanish.

 

[AndThePickles]

I've never heard of this book...does anyone have anymore thoughts other than it's "good"??

 

[kypade]

maybe spoiler? it's pretty much all in any main review of the book, though.

Spoiler

Apparently it's a multi-person narrative, the core story of which is about a family who moves into a house only to find that it is wider on the inside than it is on the outside. They start to investigate it and weird stuff starts happening. Then there is a manuscript of a documentary (based on this house? I think?) written by an old blind man. The third story is from the young kid who reads/edits the script via footnotes, and apparently he's got some stuff to say too. The whole thing is written all weird, with actual footnotes and little lines of poems and words going any-which-way on the paper, etc etc. Might have a whole page with only a couple centered words, for example. One of the front cover blurbs says it's the "first major experimental novel of the new millenium. and it's a monster. Dazzling."

I dunno, do a little research, there's all kindsa info on it. There's a whole backstory about how it used to not be a book, something about in the nineties it was just passed around between all the young generation's outcasts and had like this big cult following of strippers and tattoo artists or some crap (though this could very well have been made up history at the first printing of the book for publicity/atmosphere/creepiness).

 

[AndThePickles]

Sounds like it's supposed to mess with your mind.......interesting though, I'll have to check it out.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

...alrighty, thanks for the summary though.

 

[kypade]

Here's from wiki, all of it considered "non spoiler" (because the rest of the plot following is marked as spoilers):

House of Leaves begins with a first person narrative by Johnny Truant, a Los Angeles tattoo parlor employee. Truant is searching for a new apartment when his friend Lude tells him about the apartment of the recently deceased Zampanò, a blind, elderly man who lived in the same building as Lude.

In Zampanò's apartment, Truant discovers a manuscript written by Zampanò which turns out to be a very academic study of a documentary film called The Navidson Record.

The rest of the novel alternates between Zampanò's report on the fictional film, Johnny's autobiographical interjections, and occasional brief notes by unidentified editors, all woven together by a mass of footnotes. There is also a fourth narrator, Johnny's mother, whose voice is presented through a self-contained set of letters titled The Whalestoe Letters. Each narrator's text is printed in a distinct font, making it easier for the reader to follow the sometimes challenging format of the novel.

[under the history/background] House of Leaves has been described by various critics as a "satire of academic criticism" and "an existentialist horror novel."

I guess I was kinda off with my little remarks, heh.

 

[AndThePickles]

Amazon.com gives some pretty good summaries and reviews as well.

 

[Carter]

Maybe I'll stop by Borders and pick up a copy to read on my vacation

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Where ya goin?

 

[Carter]

A cruise. Stopping by Puerto Rico and a few other islands. I've been working out like a madman.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Ah, hope you continue to once your vacation ends.