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rgraham's review
Graphic: Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Murder, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Death, and Child death
booitsnathalie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I didn't know much about House of Leaves beyond it's infamous typography, so it was surprising to learn it's functionally a book equivalent to found footage horror. It trades documentary "authenticity" for dense citations and pervert French, but conceptually I find a lot of similarities (both are primarily interested in the mechanics of their medium and how our trust in those forms can be exploited). How successful HoL is depends mostly on your willingness to indulge its most excessive elements, following footnotes to smaller footnotes and spinning the book around like it's the world thickest centerfold.
HoL slots into a weird segment of media that I conceptually appreciate but dread existing because it inevitably gets attached to the worst sort of gross art bro. It is a playful, surprisingly warm, darkly funny book, but also one that revels in masculine violence and the deification of male ambition. It is proud of its swamp, fascinated by the algae and mutated fish, but if you want to study the tadpoles you're forced to wade past crocodiles and a CW list longer than the terms you didn't read.
My metaphors are mixing and my mind is wandering, but this is all to say HoL is a challenging recommendation in 2022. A rewarding one if you can stomach the grime, but I wouldn't shame anyone for keeping it on the shelf a while longer.
Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Confinement, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Drug use
Minor: Child death and Bullying
nozoh's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Addiction, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Sexism, Alcoholism, Gun violence, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Death of parent, Cursing, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Ableism, and Child death
woweewhoa's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Animal death, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Forced institutionalization, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Body horror, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Child death, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Ableism, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Suicide, Vomit, Physical abuse, Rape, Car accident, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Excrement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
Minor: Homophobia and Cancer
sonnygrey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Suicide, Animal death, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Violence, Death, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Sexism, Child abuse, Addiction, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Infidelity, Rape, War, and Child death
cappuccino136's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Child abuse, and Mental illness
Moderate: Child death, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
antares's review
- 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
and holy shit, did i love it. i have way too many thoughts and notes to even summarize my adoration and analysis here but it was right up my alley.
of course, this is not a book for everyone—This is not for you. but if you’re a fan of ergodic literature, academic criticism, and long-winded hedonistic stream-of-consciousnesses, and if you know what you’re in for, then i would recommend it.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Rape
Minor: Ableism, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death of parent, Sexism, and War
jonsnowsmanbun's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Confinement, and Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Murder, and Sexual content
Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Violence, Cursing, and Death of parent
lauraorourke's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
House of Leaves can only be read in physical book form. That's because the experience of reading this book is SO physical. You aren't just given a story of a house of horror. The act of reading the book itself will take you into the house, slowing you down, speeding you up, getting you lost, making you dizzy. It is that which makes this reading experience so unique, and so exciting.
House of Leaves is a multi-layered experience. In the centre is a house and a family living in that house. They discover that the inside of the house seems to be larger than the measurements on the outside. The experience of living in, and exploring that house was turned into a film, which another man spends his life trying to understand. He compiles everything he can about this film and this family, all the academic and media mentions. When he dies, a third man discovers his work, which is in fragments in an old trunk. He begins making sense of all the pieces, and putting it together, giving it order. However, regardless of the degree of separation, it seems like everyone is being haunted by this house.
My library book copy is full of post-it annotations. I found myself entirely enthralled by this book, the way it made me think and feel and reflect and fall into the house. This book is not for everybody, but I hope it's for you. Because it's nothing like other books.
(At the moment I'm rating this 4 stars. I feel like the story is 3 stars and the way the book is written is 5 stars. But I know that even the slow parts of the story (not all of it is slow!) has a purpose, and I may eventually bring this book up to a 5 star read. I have to see how long I nerd out over it, I suppose.)
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, and Murder
Minor: Cancer and Vomit
jerusha's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Alcoholism, Violence, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Mental illness, Gun violence, Grief, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Confinement, Blood, Addiction, and Bullying
Moderate: Sexual violence, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Child abuse
Minor: Ableism, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Medical content, Infidelity, Fatphobia, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Child death, and Cancer