House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of House of Leaves
Book Review: A Highbrow Oubliette of Surreal Horror
Summary: 5 Stars
Rather than overlapping some of the extensive summaries already posted, I'll zoom out and try to offer a helpful observation for the benefit of some of my fellow literati out there ... one that might help you decide to buy this book if you're still undecided. This isn't really a spoiler per se, but for those who dislike even borderline spoilers, stop reading this review now.
As best I can tell, the title "House of Leaves" is something of a multi-layered metaphorical pun. The first pun is that in older English, the pages of a book used to be called "leaves", so in effect, a book is a house built of leaves, or sheafs, of paper. The second metaphorical pun concerns the house whose story the book relates. One way to look at the Navidson house is as a metaphorical embodiment of Yggdrasil (feel free to Wikki that) - the dimension spanning World Ash Tree of Norse Mythology ... another "house of leaves" if you will. Yggdrasil's branches spanned and connected all the known realms and dimensions, and it's roots extended down into depths of hell (where foul demonic creatures, including the corpse-eating niddhogg dragon, gnawed eternally on it's roots) and also into the magical pools of the Norns, and into the well of mimir (into which Wotan cast one of his eyes in order to gain vision into the hidden mysteries of the universe and the future). It was upon a branch of yggdrasil that Odin carved his Spear of Law, Gungir, upon which all the treaties that held the known realms together were carved.
So ... as with yggdrasil and gungir, this "house of leaves" tale interweaves the lives and perspectives and recorded accounts of everyone it touches, and travelling the tree takes (re: the staircase and closet expeditions) takes one on a long twisting nightmare expedition into unplumbed depths into otherworldly dimensions beyond the ken of mortal sanity.
Feeling a little confused and intimidated ? Good. That's what the author intended. ;-)
Anyway, the book has become a post-modernist classic of high-brow surreal horror, and has gathered something of a cult following. I enjoyed it immensely. It's a great escapist mindbender, replete with overlapping changes of perspective, codes and obscure literary references. Highly recommended ... especially for those like me who are devout readers with wide-ranging tastes.
Book Review: A Mind-Blowing Trip Into the Dark
Summary: 5 Stars
Wow! I'm going to have to read this one several more times, maybe even write a page-by-page analysis on it, just for the heck of it. This was an incredible book. There's really no way to give a synospis of the story line (um, which story?), or really go into depth about my feelings for the characters (um, which characters?), there's just too much here to write about, and it would take way too much time and space to do it.This book is so deep, so disturbing, and so fabulous, it has instantly moved to the top of my favorite books list. I recommend you read it, whoever you are, whatever your interests are. It will spur your imagination, and leave you wondering about life long into the night. Not to mention looking carefully at every dark space to be sure it isn't expanding.
So go! Buy the book, read the book, become changed by the book, and by all means, write in the margins!
Book Review: A Mindblower
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this book after hearing some vague references to it being a paperback riddle, and...it is! The story is active on many different levels. There is the narrator (Johnny Truant) who finds a manuscript called The Navidson Record. This manuscript was written by an old blind man named Zampano, and is the description of an apparently nonexistent documentary that was filmed by Will Navidson, a professional photagrapher, that chronicles the strange dimensions of his new home. This second level, the story, is haunting and disquieting. As Navidson finds out more about his home, Truant reveals his thoughts on the story and his live through footnotes. Truant realizes that he is being driven mad by the story, but he must know what happens. The third level is that of the actual publishing company who publishes Truants edition of Zampano's work (It's this edition that we are supposedly reading). The company's editors make note along the way. This book requires thought, patience, and imagination, and it is the BEST thing I have read in years. An experiment that survives on sheer audacity and inventiveness, this is an astounding book. You may feel that you are quite similar to Truant. You can't think of anything but the Navidson Record (at least until you finish!). Underneath the neo-intellectualist style, the horror story elements, and the complex story web lies one of the most haunting dissections of human nature. Pretentious? Yes. Excellent? You betcha!Book Review: A Neo-Borgsian Riff Collage
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this book. It blends the idea of novels, articles, films, television and the internet. It's a horror novels that exploded into something better and more exciting. It's like Jorge Luis Borges went drinking with Stephen King, and was joined by David Foster Wallce (on a journalism kick); then the whole thing was blended up by Jeff Noon and put back together by a stoned Stephen Hawking and read to you by John Malkovich after a three-day bender. But better.Read it or despair.
Book Review: A Night of Fear
Summary: 5 Stars
Simply amazing! I found The Blair Witch Project boring and stale. House of Leaves was a frightening and enjoyable night of reading. The twisting of the book carefully mimics the twisting of the house and sanity as things slowly crumble beyond recognition. A great book and the only thing to keep me awake at night sweating from true horror.