Just hit pg 179 of the “remastered, full-color edition” of Mark Z. Danielewski’s “House of Leaves” and I need to gush about it somewhere. Obviously some (mild) spoilers on my end, but I’d appreciate no spoilers in the discussion below.
I went into this mostly blind. I knew it was a horror novel, experimental; that it had inspired several cool “non-Euclidean” video games, and I knew it was about a house that’s “bigger on the inside”. I was also prepped for weirdness, as it’s often included in weird/horror fiction lists alongside the likes of Lovecraft & “The King in Yellow”.
Honestly, I was ready to ditch this, but now I’m fully invested.
SPOILERS
I did not know about the footnotes. Or the formatting. Or the fonts. Or the meandering. Folks, last night I was ready to put this book down. Expedition #3 was underway, and I found myself having to hunt for each footnote. Back and forth, back and forth. Sometimes they’d go on for pages, and often they’d wander far away from the ongoing story. I’m pretty sure some didn’t exist. Then came Footnote #142. Completely blank. “What the hell? Just a dead en–” and that’s when it hit me - it’s a labyrinth. The book mimics the house. The book is a labyrinth. I’m bouncing between footnotes & story, between fonts/voices & tone. Sometimes it’s a dead end and I have to backtrack. Sometimes I feel a little progress. It’s a maze, and I’m suddenly excited & apprehensive to explore more of it.
I mean… damn, Danielewski. I’m hooked. You got me.
None of my friends have read it, so I had to release some excitement somewhere. Thanks for reading.
Without spoiling anything, have you read / enjoyed House of Leaves? What’s your favorite “experimental” book?
I loved this book. However, I mostly read it while travelling on public transit. That was a huge mistake. I’d be so absorbed trying to make sense of it, flipping back and forth through sections, flipping the book upside down to read in circles, etc. then only when I reached my destination and put the book away would I realize everyone is staring at me like I’m crazy…
11/10 would make a scene in public again.
Also, I used 3 bookmarks in total, simultaneously, while reading this and that’s a record for me.
I am currently reading it. Also public transport reader. Do you use those bookmarks to read one story at a time? Truants story is do weird? Why is he telling us his story? No spoiler just a small rant. But still why?
I can’t reveal too much at this point but in the same vein as you currently having to read the story and footnotes, jumping between them, there are other layers that get added and it adds too much to the story to ignore.
I’m in the same boat as you. I find Truant unlikable & a lot of his yarns unnecessary. I’m quietly hoping it “clicks” at some point, but also - I guess it could be just another meandering path through the book.
If you enjoyed that, you should watch one of the full walk throughs of the Doom mod “MyHouse.wad”, which is based on this book in so many ways, and has its own bizarre twists in and out of the game.
MyHouse.wad is absolutely one of the “cool Non-Euclidean” games I’ve seen inspired by this book!
Funny enough, I think that was the latest thing I watched that recommended it, too. I’d been hearing about the book for years, but finding another recommendation buried in a legendary Doom wad was the last push I needed lol
Easily the most interesting book I’ve ever read.
Definitely filters a LOT of people.
Can this book be experienced as an ebook or do you have to buy the paper edition for it?
This one is worth reading on paper. I say that as an avid ebook reader myself. Get the real thing for this experience.
I usually prefer ebooks, but I’m glad I opted for the physical version here. The wild page layouts would be tough to translate, and there is constant flipping back-and-forth that I think would be tiresome with an ebook.
Take a look at “The Familar”, if you can find them.
Danielewski planned it as a 27 book series, publisher made it to 5 before they pulled the plug.
I’m glad I read it, but I didn’t really appreciate having to spin the book like the world’s dullest DJ to follow the text.
I just finished it the other day, and I loved it. Definitely one of my favorite books, I’m still reeling after reading the last few chapters.
I’ve been revisiting the house every now and again since it came out. Every time I read it, though, I have to make sure my head is in a good place.
I be having such a nice day and then BAM
Johnny Truant sex story.
I read it while it was being posted online, and recently. It’s middling for me. It’s an interesting exploration in storytelling, but didn’t capture my attention.
