House of Leaves

It is very rare for a book to have its characters live beyond the pages, and at the same time let it transcend its own genre into something else. House of Leaves does that, and more. At its core, House of Leaves is many things; a horror novel, a narrative of a schizophrenic, a metaphor for loss in life. But what the reader is treated to from page one is a complex narrative which includes everything from the analysis of the character psyches, to the historical and philosophical ramifications of the anomaly that is the house. If Danielewski has intended to blur the borders of reality and fiction, he nails it with hordes of detail that borders on factual accuracy. And it does what a typical scare-fair can fail to do; it scares you. The book is very difficult to read, with the haphazard angles of printing (an analogy to the spatial perversions in the story) and several footnotes and appendices. But in many ways, that is what makes it a jaw-dropping page turner. The book has its fair share of unanswered questions - questions which give you a new perspective with each rereading, the reason for its cult status and several online discussion boards regarding the underlying themes. The best way to summarize is perhaps a line from the book itself, told by one of the band musicians to Johnny Truant. 'Take a look. But be careful. It will change your life.'

I saw some reviews where users didn't got full color edition and I was little disappointed and still I placed the order, and to my surprise I got full color edition and it's totally worth it, am currently on page 50 and one thing I would like to conclude here that this book is different, VERY different, it's definitely unsettling, I mean to the pages where there isn't anything scary, it still gives chills to my spine and my heart always races everytime I grab this book, it's not a regular book, and as mark says, 'this is not for you' Trust me he meant it

This is not just a book but an experience. It is difficult to summarise the novel (if it can be called so) within a review. The book is confusing and interesting at the same time, and often requires multiple readings to be understood properly. But it is worth it.

I got the coloured edition but the cover was a bit crooked. I am so excited for this novel and thus I am not patient enough for a replacement.

I got the remastered version and I got the book in a really good condition. I have been wanting to read this book for so long. Go for the remastered version. The quality of the paper is really good as well. I expected it to be a bit floppy and flimsy but it's surprisingly sturdy.

Received in good condition.

This book will change your perception about what a book really is. One of the best books I have ever read! Just go ahead and buy it!

Perfect Horror Novel... Never read something like this before. Makes masterful use of writing to express the anomalies of house. This one can't be described in words. It's a book with life.

Its a bit complex to read at first, but It was worth the hassle, it was a pleasant read.

18 saatte elime ulaştı. Kitabın üzerinde belli belirsiz hasar vardı fakat benim için önemli değil. Kitap remastered olarak full renkli bir şekilde geldi.

A mirror to the reader that presents the simulacrum of multiple stories, House of Leaves is probably the most subjective book I've ever read. I loved the experience of reading this book. And make no mistake: you must choose how to read it. More questions than answers or perhaps even a narrative, the book presents a multilayered facsimile of a few different kinds of fiction. So my review is as the book intends. Merely my own reading and far more reflective of what I saw of myself while consuming it, than of anything else. This book makes space for a plethora of different kinds of readings. And I studied the text as much as I was able, tabbing and underlining and making marginalia to see if it does support my reading. And it does, I think. I'm going to be brief because I'm doing a video review on my Youtube that will be much more in-depth. Borgesque in its "main" narrative, The Navidson Tapes presents itself as academic criticism of a cult film that does not exist. In its granularity, this reader found that there was a very meaningful difference between consuming a film and reading the piece about the film that retreads every shot composition and feeling, every visual perception, endowing it with something beyond the film could hope to convey in a viewing. As a visual thinker, the film was even richer and textured and my comprehension of it so augmented, that I think it's a far superior experience. If watching it even were such an option. We follow the Navidson's, Will and Karen, children: Chad and Daisy, put down "roots" in Virginia. Only their colonization of the property is inverted, and the house colonizers Will, the patriarch and famous war-time photographer that sets aside his exploration to be with his family. Only, after the family is settled, the house changes, given new space--altering its dimensions in a literal sense--growing to accommodate Will's primordial self. His maze. Or labyrinth. The journey is literalized just as he believes he's completed every journey and there is nothing left but to conquer being a father. The family finds a door to a hallway to a great foyer to a spiral staircase to a maze. This causes a rift in the couple Karen, who has claustrophobia and is too afraid to enter it, and Will, who sees the next adventure and finds it irresistible. What follows is the horror of a space reflective of the people traversing it, ostensibly, but I believe more of Will's internal selfhood, and by extension humanity. And from the wreckage of the horror of trying to navigate this maze, a movie is (fictitiously) created. The movie's critical evaluation is done by a man named Zampano, who dies at an old age after becoming obsessed with the film. Researching every thematic linkage and creating his own reading. Another horror that reflects himself, driving him literally mad, or so it would seem. Because the actual person who compiled Zampano's work is Johnny Truant. A fake name, fake person, steeped in fiction that obfuscates his own trauma hidden in the footnotes in the critical analysis Zampano had written. Literally interrupting and resisting the spiral of Navidson's narrative into the maze, as well as Zampano's dark and turbulent thoughts that similarly spiraled. Johnny's story is mostly of self-aggrandizement and sexual exploits and chemical debauchery. Generally interceding when we reach points in the Navidson narrative that trigger his trauma, though he is only aware of the metaphor he has created which haunts and dogs him, as he becomes more like Zampano. Reclusive and colonized by the reading of the Navidson story. Rather than process their trauma, see only darkness and are ultimately consumed by it. Depending on what you believe "actually" happens in the narrative, anyway. I think the key themes in the book are trauma and colonization. They're hit on the head the most, in every prose craft fashion. Metaphor, allegory, symbolism. Everything seems to me, to point to the idea of patterns colonizing minds doomed to trace the same doomed lines on every layer of the fiction, regardless of whoever and however they consumed them. Everyone needs other people to feed them information outside of their own darkroom to truly see themselves. And without outside intercession, I think we all wander our own internal maze, whether we are aware of it or not. More so for people who carry trauma, who seem to have more darkness and less light to navigate the labyrinth.

An absolute masterpiece

Super livre