House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of House of Leaves
Book Review: A wonderful debut ...
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is bursting at the seams with inventiveness and ingenuity. While I think that Danielewski still has a ways to go before becoming a complete writer, the sheer joy that he shows tearing apart narrative constructs reminds me of the first time I read "Gravity's Raimbow" or "Naked Lunch". The thing that struck me the most is that it truly makes you question your reactions to a genre (horror) that makes it's usual living off a direct access to your emotions. Is a scary moment less scary just because it's in a footnote? And if so, why? Is it any less "real" than anything else printed on a page? If we're told that the whole story is made up, it it less horrifying? Aren't they all?
If you are interested in the new wave - Wallace, Vollmann, Eggers, et. al., this is a must read. If Danielewski can grow from here in future works, he may be the best of the breed ...
Book Review: A wonderful novel
Summary: 5 Stars
Many people seem to love this novel or hate it. That's understandable and I don't like to argue over artistic preference. It takes all kinds of readers to make the world go round.
But there are two things I'd like to point out that not many reviewers have noted. (Enough have noted that House of Leaves is complex so I'll leave that alone.)
(1) This book is unbelievably scary. If you ignore the sidestories (which I did on my first reading) and read only the main story, it's actually an incredibly frightening "haunted house" tale with very well-drawn characters. Watch the way Karen is obviously in love with Navy, but can't let herself be vulnerable enough to show it. Navy loves Karen, but doesn't understand that his love for her is more important than his need to look into the dark. These characters are as well done as anything in King (I like King for his characters), and it's only the complexity of Danielewski's novel which obscures this.
(2) Danielewski is a beautiful writer. He could do "literary" if he wished. The reason one might not notice that his writing is good is that the typography is so strange, as other reviewers have noted. Listen to this passage about a man who has just passed away in a documentary film: "The aftermath of meaning. A lifetime finished between the space of two frames. The dark line where the eye persists in seeing what was never there to begin with." The fact that this passage occurs over five mostly-blank pages does not mean it is not very well written, and haunting.
Book Review: A work of staggering talent and imagination
Summary: 5 Stars
A complex, brilliant work which, as the other reviewers have set forth, can only be compared to Pynchon. House of Leaves is a thoughful, brilliant expansion of the structure of the novel format which challenges the reader and entertains at the same time. Thank God MZD is not wasting his time writing a screenplay, as his staggering talent and imagination should not be confined to 120 pages.Book Review: AMAZING BOOK!
Summary: 5 Stars
Let me just say one thing to those poor 1-star rating people who got "headaches" trying to read this book. YOU ARE IDOTS! If you aren't intelligent enough to read a 700-page book then don't buy it. I am a 14 year old and I understood this book fine...didn't give me a headache trying to figure it out because I didn't need to. Don't strain your brain, so go check out The Cat In The Hat because it is closer to your reading level. Also, if you are reading this book, you read the WHOLE book. Don't complain because of all the footnotes, they are part of the story! The main story can't exist without the footnotes because it would be a little...dry. The footnotes cat exist without the story b/c it explains what the character of Johnny is feeling and why he feels that why (to a point). So to all of those who whined about the footnotes, YOU MISSED THE WHOLE FREAKING POINT OF THE BOOK!Now with my ranting and raving about the cretins who can't understand this great book done I can get on with my review. I couldn't put down this book, and I still can't. I have re-read it so many times now! It is such a good book, even better the second time around! This is a must read for anyone who likes a twisting, turning, multi-layered plot. Be prepared to read all 700 pages and all the footnotes or you might as well not buy the book! So if you don't think you could last though 700 pages of text with long footnotes, don't bother reading this book and go read something else. For those of you who are still with me, read on. This is essentially a book of a book about a movie. You have the Navidons' story about the house, Zampano's analysis and thoughts of the movie, and Johnny's experiences after reading Zampano's manuscript. It is all multi-layered and maybe a bit too complex for some people but not for me. So if you think you can handle it, enjoy, but a warning to you...BE CAREFUL!
Book Review: Accept it for what it is
Summary: 4 Stars
It's unfortunate that this book is being slandered for failing to provide Joycean epiphanies. The reality of the situation is that, for all the elaborate fonts, footnotes, and appendices, House of Leaves is a thoroughly entertaining story. It has flaws, yes, but is overall both engaging and, to a certain extent, genuinly scarry. There seems to be a general current in criticism that says if a book has pretenses towards experimentation, it better be fully successful or it's just lousy. House of Leaves is, at times, pedantic and overwritten. Not all its experiments are successful. But it is also brilliantly Borgesian and a lot of fun. Save your criticism for the real pretentious failures of modern literature. Aim your cannons away from books that do something interesting to a genre that's stale with rehashed plots and conventional approaches. Step off the high hores, read house of leaves, and enjoy.