Welcome to the House of Leaves...
Written: Apr 26 '01 (Updated May 16 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Wonderfully intriguing. Mysterious. Emotional.
Cons: Long winded at times. A bit confusing.
The Bottom Line: Go buy it. Go buy it now. Set down and read the introduction. Mull it over. Go back and read the introduction again. Sleep on it. Begin the book.
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| Girl_Goddess's Full Review: Mark Z. Danielewski and Zampano - House of Leaves |
Mark Z Danielewski is one of those once in a century type of guys. Not many people can turn their anguish after a father's death into a huge work of literary genius, which is just what MZD did. His poetic prose begins with the story of Zampano who is writing a story about The Navidson Record which is a story about the Navidson family, and Johnny Truant is commenting on all of it. Did you follow all that? If you did then I would highly recommend this book to you.
I think it's absolutely wonderful. The twists and turns are unpredictable and exciting. The characters are very round and very real. And the book also sucks you in. While reading the book I felt for all of the characters in the story. For Navy, for Karen, for Zampano, for the kids.
There are some downsides to the book though. It is a long book, though I think every word that's in the story deserves to be there. Also it gets a tad bit confusing at times with all the footnotes and appendices to constantly refer to. And the labyrinth chapter. Oh my...
To get through the labyrinth chapter I would advise taking a block of time, about two hours or so, to read through the entire labyrinth chapter. It's not a section of the book where starting and stopping is easy. Go read each and every footnote as it is referenced. Just do it, don't think about it. Just react and read on. And when you're done set and think about the transformations. The house mirrors the people inside it and the people in the house mirror the house. Circular logic.
The House of Leaves is one of the best books I have ever read. I have also had the oppurtunity to meet MZD and hear him read from the book and read to his sister's music. It is an absolutely amazing thing to see in person if you get a chance.
If you loved House of Leaves I would recommend picking up his sister's CD Haunted. It's absolutely wonderful and deals with some of the issues in the story, including the Five and a 1/2 Minute Hallway and Hey Pretty which has been remixed and released on the radio with MZD reading snippets of the book between the verses of the song.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Girl_Goddess
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Member: Tracey
Location: Maryland
Reviews written: 35
Trusted by: 25 members
About Me:
I'm supposed to sum up my entire existence in only fifteen words?
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