Rating: 
Summary: Double Dog Dare Is Alive And Well And Literary In The 00's
Review: Mr. Danielewski spends the opening pages of his book, from the "dedication" through the "introduction" warning you not to read the book. So what do you do? You read the book! Why the quotes around those words? Because there is more to behold in every word. Every idea is layered, boxes inside boxes, not just layers on layers. This is no two-dimensional construct (as "leaves" might suggest). Just as the "house" (sorry I can't print the word in blue) is bigger on the inside than on the outside, so are the words, the ideas and the book themselves. The metaphor is stunningly simple, yet profound, and well, complex. On one level, it's like every slasher pic ever made, where you know the character (future victim) shouldn't open that door, or go down that dark hallway. He/she has to because it's there. Because it's hardwired into the script and can't be changed. Only you, the reader, are the subject, here. You get your hands on this book and you have to "do it." On another level, you can marvel at the idea. Is it about the harmless curiosities of multi-dimensional space? Or is it about the pure horror of the supernatural? Are they one and the same? You've got to give Mr. Danielewski credit for knowing his audience and playing us for all we're worth. The comparisons to Pynchon, Wallace and others are inevitable because right away you see that the text is steeped in nearly real-time cultural allusions, and other written references, some of which appear to be actual, others not. So this, this is-it-really-a-novel? novel is very dense, highly compressed, even at more than 700 pages. But then, there are many pages that are nearly blank! Who's the joke on? The book invites you to move around; scan appendices, examine the index (which even has entries for words like "for," with dozens of pages listed). You have to smile, if not laugh outright. But at the same time, he manufactures a brooding edginess and mystery. You wonder about heeding jacket blurb cautions not to read the book just before going to bed. But you go ahead and read anyway. Is this rhetoric elevated to the sublime? Or the cruel? A tower of reader manipulation. But you're a willing partner. You read it and you want to look into Danielewski's eyes -- just to see if maybe you can catch a glimpse of where this came from. He's working with a couple of very simple ideas, but he's looking at them in a whole new ... darkness? Yeah, it's pushing the post-modern envelope, but at the same time you've expected someone to do this. If he hadn't done it another daring young writer would have taken novelistic de/re-construction here or close by. Of course few would have chosen terror as their playground. But this is not all just a literary game. Or is it? Joyce said as much of his own "Finnegan's Wake." I daresay, few others could have pulled it off ... to the exent that part of me wants to know how other readers survived reading it! Is the editor still a functioning member of society? The proofreader? The author himself? His agent? The other reviewers on this web page? Is that a thumbs up! Yes, if you're willing to turn yourself over to a master. It may depend on how brave you are, whether you can detach yourself from the work so you can come up for a breath of fear-free air once in a while, or whether you allow it to take you and -- as at least one of its narrative voices promises -- change you forever. I've had a hard time thinking of anything else since I got my hands on it.
Rating:
Summary: The Most Important Writer of the 21st Century is Here.
Review: You'll be hearing a lot of hype about this book and its author in the coming months. And believe me, it's all true, and more. Danielewski is a Pynchon for the 00's, if not a Laurence Sterne for our times. The book is as brilliant as you may think, and goes light-years beyond anything else being written these days. As a first novel, it's nothing short of spectacular. If MZD writes nothing else for the rest of his life, his reputation is secured with this opus. Brilliant, unsettling, macabre, the book is fully worthy of all the accolades you will no doubt soon be hearing.
Rating:
Summary: Hot Stuff
Review: I really don't feel like writing an essay like some of the reviewers have, but I would like to say that coming from the perspective of a not-so-avid reader, this book still holds up strong. It really is terrifying and thought provoking on so many different levels. I adore the 'unconventional' structure of this book, as well as all the taboo themes it deals with.There is absolutely no end to the amount of ways there are to read this text(literally as well as figurativly). You won't be finished with it until long after you've finished reading it.
Rating: 
Summary: Very well-though and long novel
Review: House of Leaves was a very enjoyable read. Reminded me a little of H.P. Lovecraft (although I do think that Danielewski is more effective in presenting a scary story with characters that slowly get crazier and crazier as they get deeper into "The house"), but in a very unique way. First, it is a horror story. As I said, a story where the author effectively uses everything that he can to convey the scare and insanity going through the characters' minds while they try to solve a very bizarre mystery. Trying not to keep away from spoiling the story, it is not an easy read. Very often the story goes away from the main investigation on the "house" and starts to dwell on the psychological meaning of what is happening, drawing analogies from a number of works (some fictitious) in a good number of different languages (don't worry, translation is provided to almost all of them). This makes the book harder to read, and sometimes a little frustrating. You get to the climax of something and you want to know what happens and then there is a whole chapter talking about things that look completely unrelated. Anyway, this is not the reason I gave only 4 stars. My greatest issue with the book is that the characters, in my point of view, do not make much sense. They don't look very believable. It may be just me, but it did annoy me enough to remove a star.
Rating:
Summary: strange and engaging
Review: the only reason i read this book is because it is supposedly related to the album "Haunted" by Poe. i was very pleased when i found it to be an unusual, creative, and thrilling read. i won't bother describing it, because the plot is much too complicated. i'll just say that the book is written like an academic paper, complete with footnotes, which make it a bit difficult to read, as well as some unusual typesetting (some upside-down, sideways, diagonal, and backwards paragraphs). however, instead of ruining the book, these attributes only made it more realistic in a way. the book definitely spooked me. it's odd, because there isn't a 'bad guy' in the book. the only thing that comes close to being a bad guy is the house itself. but it did scare me. i had to sleep with the light on all week because of this book. the book also made me think, something i love about a book. it made me think, "what if i open the closet door and suddenly find a fifty foot hallway?" and the book almost makes me believe it could happen. overall, it's a great, thrilling read if you have a lot of time and don't mind some unusual attributes to the book.
Rating:
Summary: A challenge
Review: This may be the most complicated book I've ever read. There are layers upon layers and you can never be sure what's real and what isn't. I won't say it's the best book I've ever read, but it's certainly the most ambitious and creative. The way the typography was used alone is unlike anything I've ever seen. It could have been simply a gimmick, but it really reflects the story as well. A quick hint to people who like to read while doing something else--this is NOT the book for it. I took it with me to the gym and tried to read it while riding an exercise bike. Not a pretty sight.
Rating: 
Summary: Had potential to be really cool.
Review: This book is basically divided in two parts. As you know from the reviews below, I wont get into the details of it. I would of rated it a 5 for the house story of it, but I couldnt get past 100 pages of this because of the crassness and sexual explicit material from the words of Johnny.
Rating:
Summary: The most insanely, different book I've ever read.
Review: I've just finished reading a novel that, for me, redefines HOW a book
can be written. It is called "House of Leaves" by Mark Z.
Danielewski. It is nearly impossible to describe WHAT it is about,
and even more difficult to explain HOW it is presented. If anyone is
in the mood for something totally different, this could be your
ticket. However, at 700+ pages (and many of them infuriatingly
detailed) it is not an "easy" read. This is a love/hate book the
likes of which I have never seen.
A synopsis is nearly impossible. Most reviews I have read relate as
much. As best I can descibe it, "House of Leaves" begins with a story
written by a fictional character named Zampano. Early on, Zampano (an
80 year old, blind, house-bound nutcase) dies under mysterious
circumstances. Throughout the latter part of his life, Zampano was
obsessed with writing a fictional story called "The Navidson Record."
This story is written in almost essay form, about the fictional
accounts of a family that moves into a rural home in the Virginia
countryside where very strange things occur. The head of the family,
Will Navidson (a professional photojournalist,) recorded every
indescribable/impossible event that transpired in their house. As
Zampano's story goes, the recorded events were turned into an
international hit docu-drama movie (think Blair Witch Project).
Zampano creates an entire universe of people who have supposedly seen
this movie, and have written articles, books, thesis and subsequent
films about that film. There are hundreds of footnotes, endnotes and
quotes attributed to both real and fictional people who supposedly
have seen this movie.
Along comes another character named Johnny Truant. Truant discovers
Zampano's unfinished, and painfully disorganized manuscript, and
feels compelled to translate, organize and explain what he has found.
Johnny Truant is by far, the single most perfect observance into
total insanity I have ever seen. The more obsessed he becomes with
attempting to understand Zampano's story, the further into the abyss
we watch Truant fall.
The book often presents Zampano's academic essay and Truant's run-on
ramblings on the same page, for pages at a time, in simultaneous
narrative, that shapes the text to conform to the mindset of
whichever author rules the page. (Some pages have only one paragraph,
sentence or word. Some pages have four or five running footnotes that
continue for 10 or more pages - backwards, forwards, or even
requiring a mirror to read.) Some sentences run on for two, three or
more pages.
The central focus of the story is anyone's guess. However, the theme
tends to relate back to the definition of TRUE darkness and
emptiness, and I mean total and complete. There are diagrams, poems,
letters from mothers in insane asylums, and supposed quotes from
people such as Steven King, Camille Paglia, Ken Burns and countless,
countless others.
If you ever see the book on your travels, take a couple of minutes to
flip through the pages. IMHO, it is the work of pure genius. I am
dumbfounded that ONE person could write this. There are DETAILED
references to biblical scripture, ancient Greek mythology, scientific
studies of sound and echo, and an almost thorough knowledge of all
things knowable.
As I feared, describing WHAT this book is has made me sound as insane
as the characters in it. I will stop now. Investigate further at your
own peril. But beware: this could one day be you! :-)
Rating:
Summary: experience it.
Review: The story of The Navidson Record is extremely well done. The characters, Navy, Karen, Chad, Daisy, Reston, Holloway, all come together in 3-D on the page. They are complex characters that all are interlaced quite beautifully in the narrative. And the narrative. It's done very carefully, making it read like a documentary, with footnotes and side stories. The Navidson Record touches on many levels, from the surface, which is a creepy story about a bizarre incident. Getting under the skin, the Record touches on ideas of fear and aloneness. The size of the house can be viewed in a few ways and that leaves interpretation for the reader. I like viewing the house as one under distress. The family is torn apart by a mystery. Everyone, children included, are pulled away from the family as a unit of measure. With a family divided the house seems expands.
The character of Johnny Truant is not a likeable a character, in my opinion. He's a punk who reaps what he sows. Early on, he seems very two dimensional and cliche, something copied from Bukowski but not done nearly as well. Truant seems trite through most of the novel. The letters from his mother help you learn more about him.
The publishing of House of Leaves is different than most conventional publications out there. Upside-down type, boxed, crossed-out. You name it. It's interesting but not completely necessary. At some points, I felt the format take away from what could've been better writing. For example, Danielewski may have changed words to publish a page in a 1 inche by 1 inch box on a page. While he achieved the publishing goal, the final words may have been weaker due to forced format. Quite a few conversations in the book left me feeling that.
House of Leaves is a very good book and I recommend reading Danielewski interviews regarding the writing process involved. Quite interesting, and I respect his passion for wanting to revitalize paper and ink press. He gets an A+ for that. Also, if you are just carousing through the book, flipping pages without having read, looks quite intimidating, right? Don't worry. Dig right in. It's worth the experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Brownie points for trying something different
Review: This book is quite good. I don't want to attack it because i applaud the fact that the writer has tried to break away from the conservative and conventional novel structure that most writers still employ. It is ambitious and unusual and makes a nice change from run of the mill novels. On the other hand the characters are a little chliched and undeveloped and the prose is a little clumsy. Sometimes writers get so caught up in textual experimentation that they forget, or don't have the energy to take care with the prose. If you enjoy the textual experiments and the parody of academia in this novel, you might also enjoy reading 'The Third Policeman' by Flann O'brien. He was pushing the limits of postmodernism even before Borges. He is also a master of prose and a comic genius.
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