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witherskeleton's review
5.0
This was really good! Not a whole lot of new material but I don’t really mind considering how fantastic the old material was. Definitely give this a read if you liked house of leaves!
snazzaroolu's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kidlightnings's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Do you like to feel mild discomfort, because I do
Do you also like to read books and have a notebook with you so you can decode things, because I do
Do you also like to read books and have a notebook with you so you can decode things, because I do
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Rape
This guy and his mom have one hell of a toxic relationship, but he has that with everyone, so what can you doscheu's review
3.0
What did I get out of this?
That Johnny Truant's mother was a whackjob.
I do feel as though I have the complete HOL story now, which is nice.
That Johnny Truant's mother was a whackjob.
I do feel as though I have the complete HOL story now, which is nice.
ohbabyitsalli's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
jhamm's review
4.0
The Whalestoe Letters: The Extended Edition.
It’s really difficult to accurate state how I feel about this book/rate it. On one hand, the story is excellently written, a truly wonderful example of an epistolary novella. The main protagonist is also a very dynamic and complex character, which I appreciate. To be honest The Whalestoe Letters might be my favorite part of House of Leaves.
Therein lies my dilemma though. About 75% of this story is just taken from the appendix of House of Leaves, and I really don’t know if the newly added material is worth buying. The whole story pretty much remains intact from House of Leaves, and the eleven new letters, while interesting, didn’t really add anything substantial for me or changed my perspective on the narrative. In fact, I actually enjoyed the foreword to the novella more than the novella itself, as the foreword was not included in House of Leaves, it gave a meta explanation for why this was published, and gave a bit more insight into a new character and their dynamic with the protagonist.
On a side note too, I have no idea why they put the list of where the new letters not featured in House of Leaves are at the back of the book instead of the front. I literally had my copy of HOL opened and was manually flipping through pages of both books to make sure I didn’t miss anything new, and then right at the very end of the book I discovered I had a built-in cheat sheet. Kinda annoying.
Overall though, I can’t deny that the story is wonderfully written, and remains one of the highlights of the HOL universe. I’d recommend buying this version with HOL since it’s really cheap and instead of reading the appendix found in the original novel, read this instead. I wish I had done that.
It’s really difficult to accurate state how I feel about this book/rate it. On one hand, the story is excellently written, a truly wonderful example of an epistolary novella. The main protagonist is also a very dynamic and complex character, which I appreciate. To be honest The Whalestoe Letters might be my favorite part of House of Leaves.
Therein lies my dilemma though. About 75% of this story is just taken from the appendix of House of Leaves, and I really don’t know if the newly added material is worth buying. The whole story pretty much remains intact from House of Leaves, and the eleven new letters, while interesting, didn’t really add anything substantial for me or changed my perspective on the narrative. In fact, I actually enjoyed the foreword to the novella more than the novella itself, as the foreword was not included in House of Leaves, it gave a meta explanation for why this was published, and gave a bit more insight into a new character and their dynamic with the protagonist.
On a side note too, I have no idea why they put the list of where the new letters not featured in House of Leaves are at the back of the book instead of the front. I literally had my copy of HOL opened and was manually flipping through pages of both books to make sure I didn’t miss anything new, and then right at the very end of the book I discovered I had a built-in cheat sheet. Kinda annoying.
Overall though, I can’t deny that the story is wonderfully written, and remains one of the highlights of the HOL universe. I’d recommend buying this version with HOL since it’s really cheap and instead of reading the appendix found in the original novel, read this instead. I wish I had done that.
ethanlaz's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is an add on to House of Leaves. If you have not read House of Leaves, read that first.
javorstein's review
5.0
LIKE???????? WHAT?????? pelafina who are you did you write the book (no) what the fuck