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 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.