House of Leaves : A novel

Rating:
Summary: Her Hallway Moves Like the Ocean Moves...
Review: Flood I" - Floodland - Sisters of Mercy Copyright 1987
WEA Records LTD Published by SBK Songs

I don't know, but I think MZD was in some Goth bar and the opening lyrics to Sisters of Mercy, Flood I came on and zeroed into his psyche like a Hood arrow:
"And her hallway Moves
Like the ocean Moves"

MZD wrote a fantastic book. He generates the suspense of Hitchcock and the out-thereness of "The Twilight Zone" together in a fairly taught narrative. I got pulled into this book and it walked a new terrain. Very original. Very bewildering. A fun reading event. Like nothing I've read before. May be worth a try for you?

Rating:
Summary: Hardly able to put it down
Review: It is interesting that the experience of reading "House of Leaves" is very much like the book itself... if you're daring enough to venture into it, you're going to find it very very hard to get out.

Danielewski is a wordsmith, a master of convincing the reader to forget that they're actually reading a novel. While the footnotes, if you're not careful, can get distracting, the truth is that the story of both Johnny Truant and even moreso of The Navidson Record are so deeply compelling that once you pick this book up, you'll hardly be able to put it down.

It took me three weeks to get past the first 100 pages and 8 hours to finish the rest of the book. If you let it suck you in, you'll never regret it.

Rating:
Summary: Shows promise
Review: You've probably already read the summary of this. There's a book written by a guy called Zampano (which, in some language, probably translates to Abdul Alhazred), that's found by a guy called Johnny Truant (whose main purpose is to pop up every now and again to say "Hey, look at me! Still nuts over here!"). And the whole thing is written by Mark Danielewski, who I always imagined sitting next to me, elbowing me in the ribs every time I passed over one of his jokes, just to make sure I realize how clever he is. "Taggert Chiclitz". Yeah. I get it, Mark.

Well, you know what they say. If you come right out and TELL people who you're stealing from, you can call it an "homage".

That being said, I DID find the Navidson Record pretty compelling. But Johnny Truant was just annoying. So the whole effect was sort of like watching an episode of Mystery Science Theater. Only Mike and the bots weren't very funny. And they were making fun of a pretty good movie.

Or, maybe it was more like watching a movie like Halloween with some guy who kept pausing it every five minutes to ask if I was getting scared yet. And thanks to his constant interruptions, I never did.

In any case, I'm just not sure what's supposed to be so new about this book. I mean, I've seen footnotes in novels before, and I'd bet Danielewski has too. Or am I to believe the head-in-the-microwave joke is just a coincidence?

Or maybe he thinks the oddly-oriented text will shock me to such an extent that I succumb to the vapors, and the mesmerist/phrenologist I keep on retainer will have to be summoned to my chambers to administer the smelling salts.

Seriously, Mark. This is 2004.

And, yes, there are hidden codes and things in it. But since the novel itself is so lackluster, looking for them is about as interesting as trying to find all the secret levels in a really crappy video game.

But, here's the thing. Being able to hide things in a story doesn't make you a genius. Go ahead and try it yourself. It's not hard. The hard part is convincing people that it's worth the trouble to DEcode it. It didn't exactly pull that off for me, but maybe it will for you.

And as far as the labyrinth itself goes, well, some stories don't really NEED re-telling, do they? Usually, when people use ancient myths in modern settings, it just feels ham-handed, like they're afraid maybe you didn't get it the first time and they're trying to pound the meaning into you, come what may. If I wanted that, I have the version with David Bowie and all the puppets on DVD.

Still, I didn't hate it, like some people seem to. It IS the guy's first novel, after all. I'm willing to give him another chance. And who knows? Maybe someday I'll get sick or something and looking for all the little jokes and puzzles will keep me busy for awhile. It beats crossword puzzles.

Rating:
Summary: an interesting evolution
Review: A convoluted evolution of Pale Fire. The Tom Clancy version, perhaps. Fun to read. Even if you dislike postmodern literature in general, you may like this.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent core
Review: While I found the layering to be a bit much (action as recorded by cameras as edited by protaganist as dissected by weird old dude as discovered by weird young dude as filtered by "editors") and didn't find the story of Johnny Truant to be especially compelling, I thought the typographic wackiness was effective and well done, and I thought the core love/horror story was well done. I didn't nail measuring tape to my floor, but I did sleep with the lights on a time or two.

Rating:
Summary: A 21st Century perspective on the mystery of GOD
Review: No doubt this book will enthrall some and totally alienate others.Because of the various storylines/typeface weaving throughout this narrative(s), and the enigmatic way the book is constructed, the question asked is "is it worth the effort?"...
HOUSE of LEAVES is not necessarily an easy read, at least not until the reader works through his/her own "system" of how to proceed into this unique literary adventure.
My advise...read through each chapter following one particular typeface(or character).Then, after each of the 3 or 4 narritives are completed(including footnotes) you'll get a better idea of what the overall chapter is really saying(!?) and be ready for the next chapter.
Very good read...and absolutely spooky.In my opinion it ranks as one of the better works of literature describing humanitys' confrontation with the TOTAL unknown both within and without.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Concept Falls Short
Review: While I'm not a big horror fan in general, I enjoy a good psychologically scary story now and then, and I'd heard so much about this novel's unique set up that I was intrigued enough to give it a shot. My overall opinion is mixed. I found The Navidson Record portion itself fascinating, but after a while the lengthy footnotes from the narrator about the effect it had on his life, bored me. A large part of the problem for me was realizing early on that Johnny Truant was kind of a jerk BEFORE he stumbled across the manuscript. I couldn't muster much sympathy for him as his life fell apart, nor could I help but think that if finding the Navidson Record hadn't driven him into a personal hell, eventually the drug ridden lifestyle he was already leading surely would have. In addition, the one word per page and upside down text sections, which seemed intended to give the impression that you were reading this the same way Truant was, as a bunch of papers slapped together, just got annoying after a while and made the book way too long. In short, my three star rating is broken down as: 2 stars for The Navidson Record, 1 star for originality of design, and zero stars for unlikeable slacker Johnny Truant and his descent into madness. While I'm not sorry I read it, it's not one I'd re-read or highly recommend.

Rating:
Summary: Worth your copper.
Review: The book is intricately detailed, and being as abstract as the overall concept is - a book about a documentary and various other resources, which in fact don't exist - it is marvelously executed, and while it's hard to get into, once you get over the hump you'll no doubt find it hard to stop turning the pages.

Rating:
Summary: words that are scary
Review: I F Y O U L I K E T O B R E A K C O D E S A N D B E R E A L L Y S C A R E D A T N I G H T B Y m O V I N G S H A D O W S T H I S I S T H E B O O K F O R Y O U D O N T S A y I D I D N T W A R N Y O U f I R S T T H O U G H I T W I L L N O T F a I L T O M E S S Y O U U P S E v E R E L Y D o N T r E A D i t IF Y O U A R e N T R E A D Y b E C A U S E Y o U W I L L B E S C A R E D Y o U W I L L B E S C A R E D T H A N k s F O R R E A D I N G

Rating:
Summary: Don't give up on this one...
Review: Yes, there's a few dry spots -- there's a few nutty supots (backwards text, text with strikethroughs etc.) but dont give up on it. Finish it, force yourself to. In 50 years this book will be one of 2 things: 1) Looked upon like Shakespear's Romeo and Juliet or 2) Be banned all throughout the United States and Britian with government organized book burnings. Let's hope that its number 1. Everyone should read this book...give it a chance...its so original, so fresh, its just a great book!