House of Leaves

WOW! A friend of mine brought me this incredible book to read. She just said it was great and the “Blair Witch” of Literature.  I didn’t know what to think about that, but flipping through the book I could tell I was about to get my world rocked. I was not disappointed.

 

Danielewski’s book is supposed to fly in the face of a traditional book. The typeset is not set. The words flow not just from his imagination in straight lines, but upside down, in circles, reversed, in random array. The book follows the ebb and flow of the house.  There are obscure references, poetry, several story lines, wonderful parallels, and a rich-raw-gritty-beautiful story. It’s not a horror-fiction book so to speak. Yes, the house is creepy. Yes, people die. There’s a vague reference to a minotaur.  So, it has the elements, but it’s not a “scary” book.

 

The use of language and puns is a thing of beauty. The very Brontean end is classic and somewhat genius. It gives the illusion of a happy ending, but doesn’t feel hollow. The actual ending is as disturbing and heart rending as any good work of fiction could be. The characters (even in lack of depth and description) is completely three dimensional.

 

I cannot stop thinking about how awesome this book is. And I mean awesome in the original sense of that word. In the “awe inspiring”, “mind-blowing”, “completely changes your outlook” way.

 

The book (like the house) challenges your notions of what is “supposed” to be. It feels disjointed in a way that makes you think. The words mimic the actions, mimic the house.

 

You should drop whatever you are doing, pick this book up, and read it. Read it and hope it makes sense for you. Read it and love every second of it.

 

Grade: O+ (Outstanding!!)

 

 

 

I wanted share a few images from the pages of the book, so you can understand what I mean about flow and imagination.

 

From here.

 

From here.