Author: Danielewski, Mark
Publisher: Pantheon
Pages: 708
Copyright: 2000
ISBN: 0-375-70376-4
Category: Fiction
Danielewski authors mostly works of fiction that play with typographical settings to alter the mood of the book. He has also authored Only Revolutions (2007), The Fifty Year Sword (2005), and the Whalestoe Letters (2000).
A piece of "postmodern" fiction that contains narratives within narratives within narratives and philosophical concepts thrown around like snowballs in winter, House of Leaves uses philosophy as a grounds to construct and deconstruct a horror/suspense story of sorts. Starting with the story of Johnny Truant and the tale of how he stumbles upon a written movie review and then moving into that movie review as the main text of the novel, House of Leaves has much going on within its pages. Truant gives the reader updates on his experiences through the footnotes he has included while reading through this movie review. The movie that this review is based off of adds much of the "postmodern" aspect of the book, mostly through the exploration of a house that is bigger spatially on the inside than on the outside. The movie is then critically reviewed with philosophical terms and ideas and it only gets crazier from there. Somewhere along the line Danielewski manages to throw in an unreliable narrator to make you wonder if any of what you are reading is true, text that is crossed off, pages that have only a few words on them or strangely placed text, and the idea that the book you are holding in your hands is somehow aware of it's existence as a book.
Needless to say this book is overwhelming. But after wading through it and applying oneself into truly understanding this book, it is a masterful work. If only read on the surface level, and as a light read, it would be misunderstood and hated. This book requires thought and effort, and if it is given that, the reader will receive much in return.
