Rating: 
Summary: Worth Checking Out
Review: Danielewski's book is perhaps overly amibitious. Besides the debts it owes, as other readers have observed, to David Foster Wallace and Blair Witch, whether intentional or not, it has some flaws which keep it from surpassing the status of an amusing experiment. Sure, it challenges or at least plays with concepts of narration but not without a price. Deconstructing his text the way he has distances the reader from the heart of the story--the characters--and makes it difficult to empathize with them, which gradually deflates the initial excitement of the story. The mystery of the house is not deep enough for protracted suspense and the characters surrounding it, including Zampano and Johnny Truant, are one-dimensional. Maybe the emotional core of the book was too difficult for Danielewski to approach any more closely than he did. The chapter on architecture is the obvious crown jewel of the book and gives reason to believe that the author is capable of great things. Now if he can just add emotional resonance, he may indeed create something outstanding.
Rating: 
Summary: A must read for all literary enthusiasts
Review: Being midway through my career as an English and Philosophy double major at a small private, undergraduate college, I am always on the lookout for literature that is at the cutting edge of its field. I feel no shame in stating that I am wont to wandering through bookstores and picking out, at random, those books whose covers catch my eye. I don't always purchase them as a result of this, but I always give them a look through, flip the pages, see what there is to see. When I came across House of Leaves, I was at first wary. "A family that discover their house is bigger on the inside..." was certainly a description to catch the eye, but could I really handle the "upside down" footnotes? The scattered pages? It made me nervous so I put it back down and walked away. But the book haunted me even before I picked it up, and some time later I returned and bought a copy. The exposition of the novel is good, but didn't draw me in as I wanted it to and so at first I was disappointed, thinking that once again the synopsis of the book would be better than the read itself. Curiousity forced me to persist, however, and several dozen pages into it I found that I could not put it down. I was often so anxious to find out what happened next that I would begin to skim pages, only to force myself to slow down and go back to absorb them properly. Danielewski's end result is a fast-paced, clever invention that haunts me even months after I've closed it. It's one of those books that I feel I must always take with me, and guard because the words therein are precious and must be protected from those who do not understand, or appreciate. Truly a stunning read, but not for the faint of heart, and not for those who aren't willing to put a little effort into their reading. This book requires a strict appreciation for literary experimentation. If you're a writer, as I am, it's the kind of book you always wished you'd had the guts to put on paper. Brava, Mr. Danielewski, brava.
Rating:
Summary: A chilling glimpse into the abyss...
Review: This is a story about a strange house. This is also the story about Navidson, a Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist who moves his family into the strange house. This is also the story of a documentary filmed by Navidson about his family moving into the strange house. This is also the story of House Of Leaves, a book written by an old blind man, a book about the documentary of the family that lived in the strange house. This is also the story of Johnny Truant, the person who finds and restores the book written by an old blind man about a documentary of the family that lived in the strange house, and does so at the risk of his own sanity. It is all of this, and so much more. House Of Leaves is not a book for the passive reader. With two major plot lines running almost simultaneously throughout the book, and several more scratching the surface at various points, this is a book that demands your full attention, both while you are reading it and for weeks to come afterwards. There isn't much that can be said about the intent or message behind House Of Leaves, for there are too many to list, and the list is constantly changing. This is a book that demands to be read twice, with the threat of a third looming in the distance, and no doubt it will read differently each time. Indeed, this is the kind of book that reads you. As multi-layered as the house on Ash Tree Lane itself, it will earn a permenant place on your bookshelf, no doubt well in reach.
Rating:
Summary: Get yourself the hardback...
Review: Take a twilight show episode and send it to an MIT student as his thesis topic. Take you insane mother and all the letters she sent you. Take an Los Angeles bar hopper, swinger kid, have him write about his exploits, his one night stands, his tattoo parlor job, his stripper friends. Take the footnotes from David Foster Wallace's "Infinite Jest", shorten them, and give them a little less hidden agendas. These are only part of the greater attraction of House of Leaves. And much like it's namesake, the fictional house that is larger inside than out, this story will draw you further and further in, right until the end. Despite it's being classified as horror, it didn't quite frighten me, but it does grip you, keep you wondering about it, even when you're not reading it. This is a perfect book for a long flight, but do yourself a favor, don't skimp on the paperback version. Get yourself a hardback, you'll need the durability.
Rating:
Summary: Pure Brilliance!!
Review: When Mark says that House of Leaves will change your life, it's no understatement. Since reading this novel, I've been looking at everything in a different way. Every single day something happens that reminds me of the novel in some way. I want to discuss it soo badly, but none of my friends have read it yet. If you are looking for a great mind trip that refuses to leave your psyce, this is it.
Rating:
Summary: A Night of Fear
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: 5 1/2 minute Hallway
Review: Mark Z. is a master of language. This is the type of book that you cannot ignore. He made the story within a story interesting and accomplished it well. This novel is not like other novels for this one reason- it isn't all layed out for you. You have to do more than simply read, it recquires your thoughtsand feelings and soon, like the characters within it, you will be trapped in the 5and 1/2 minute hallway. buy it, you will enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: it was about time
Review: Not just fiction...not even a thriller. It is hard enough to put yourself rapped up in the 708 pages of a book, leaving no space (space?/darkness/a cool hand) untouched, just to state the obvious: when dreams turn to nightmares you have to do something about it. It was about time...
Rating:
Summary: Good read
Review: Enjoyable! Typically I'm reading multiple books at the same time. This book is multiple books (stories). It gave me my share of the creeps. Near the end of the book our heat came on late at night and slammed the bedroom door shut. I must have been wound up tight because I nearly had a heart attack. Looking back to when I found the book, I almost put it back on the shelf. It remined me of books with similar formats I had not enjoyed. Not true. Cover to cover it is entertaining. Guess I'll keep this short, I left my tape measure down stairs.
Rating: 
Summary: >>^..^<< 'Meow'
Review: This book is written well. Too Well. Infact a lot of it reads like a university text book that costs 200$ and has only ever been read by the author and no one else. The word sterile springs to mind. Some pages only have three words on them and often they are upside down or written in a circle; bound to make you look wierd if you read it on a crowded train! Typographical experimentation fails to take the readers attention away from the mess that these paper leaves are in. Books cannot be videos.
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