House Of Leaves (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) by Danielewski, Mark Z. (March 1, 2000) Library Binding

This book is quite intimidating at 700 pages, but in the end I really enjoyed that it was this length, with the addition of letters, poems, and so much more at the end which add to the main story. As well as thjs, there are many pages which only have a few words so isn’t quite as massive as it appears at first. I really like the way it is told with the added footnotes and the variation in the visual layout, especially as the story progresses and you can see the changes in Johnny’s mental state as he reads and annotates more of Zampano’s study of The Navidson Record. I look forward to rereading it at some point and trying to spot what I missed the first time around. It’s not an easy read and definitely hurt my head at times but I would absolutely recommend it.

Despite what other reviews say, this is not a horror novel. More an exploration of relationships, both external and internal. The house is the frame from which the rest hangs. It's about love, and loss, and longing, and madness, and recovery and memory. Some parts are so convoluted as to be almost indecipherable. I can't decide if it is good writing or an artist experimenting. If the aim of art is to communicate, then The House of Leaves isn't entirely successful.

So as a fan of Lovecraft this was recommended to me by an author friend, and I can see why. For something modern it has this beautiful tale at its centre that is chilling in the most subtle way, creating deep sinking unease instead of pure straight up fear. This bit I would give a solid 4.5 out of 5. The other aspect of the book is how this tale is transmitted to the reader, effectively via three other layers of writer, story-teller and editors. This in itself is impressive, and then the format of the book also comes with side stories, and aspects of the book written in scribbles, upside down, mirror image, a word a page, or via extensive appendices that cover everything from poems, to letters, to drawings, to code. I completely see how this appeals to real literature nerds, but to me this was an aspect of the book that I felt was a bit overdone, not bad but a 5/5 idea indulged until it was a 3/5 execution. It made the book more of a slog to get through than it had to be, especially when it went into long lists of things so repetitive you're effectively unable to actually read it all. So if you're the sort of person who might get annoyed at this then worth bearing in mind, but most people probably will find it interesting and it does add to the "what is happening here" crisis the book seeks instill in the reader. Pretty impressive overall though, even if it feels it was written more to appeal to literature scholars than normal people.

Love this book!

I never read something so captivating in

Absolutely beautiful. Daughter told me about this year's ago.

You want to get everything you can out of this book and this is the one to get!

I've had a lot of friends ask me if there's a hardcover version of HoL. There is, and this is it! Came in fantastic condition, and went on my shelf next to my paperback copy. It doesn't have the inner cover with the pictures like the paperback, but it is full color. So, no jacket, yes hardback, yes full color. If you're a hardcover fan you'll love it!