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stefo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
̶T̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶
I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to write a review on such a detailed and maximalist work of literature but here I go. I won't go into spoiler territory and will mostly just express my fascination with this book and try and get YOU to read it too :)
For what it is, House of Leaves is a difficult book for a number of reasons, the almost ironic pseudo-academic passages, our incredibly unreliable narrator Johnny Truant and his at times incoherent ramblings, the dismembered structure of the story as a whole and the incredible experimentation with page layout, typography and general weirdness of it all. But, I strongly believe that once you ease yourself into the first couple of chapters, with enough free time most of the book will pass like a breeze, or as some people may call it "a page turner". Also, there are lots of dense pages where you have to slow down a bit but some of the chapters are totally rapid-fire.
Another interesting thing about this behemoth is that I can't really restrain it to being a single genre, the top genre here on Goodreads is "Horror" but in my opinion this is much, much more than just that and to be honest I wont even try to explain it with genres, maybe the closest would be "Experimental Meta-Horror" if such genre exists.
There are so many twist and turns in the story and so many different interpretations that the possibilities of the "mystery" seem almost endless. However, I think that the best part of the book IS the journey of reading it, sure the ending is great and manages to encapsulate the chaos pretty well but I think the act of reading this thing in general is the excitement of it all, probably the most fun I've had in literature in, well, ever.
The act of reading may be fun here, but this is In my honest opinion not a funny book, it cracks some good jokes from time to time and there is some more humorous characters but again, I can't really confine it to mere descriptors since it offers a lot. Some people have stated that they found it straight up scary, some cried, some found it mysterious and some, funny and I can confidently say the book can be all that to different readers. I personally found the story incredibly sad, not in a depressing way to be honest but in a strong emotional way, accompanied by Nine Inch Nail's "Ghosts" album series this book made me FEEL a lot. Still have that gaping feeling in my chest as I'm writing this and to be honest books that manage to make me FEEL are the best, I'm also sure this book is capable of making you feel something too.
If any of this sounds like an interesting time by all means give this book a chance! Few will regret it :) Be sure to stay out of spoiler territory and don't Google much, some things are better when you don't know a lot about them. (Also, this is in no way a book to be read in e-book format, I highly suggest you buy the "Remastered Full-Color Edition" since it gives the best experience, or if you know me personally hit me up and I'll happily lend it to you!)
Graphic: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Body horror, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Animal death, Blood, Forced institutionalization, and Suicide
Minor: Self harm, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual assault
akiram's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Suicide, Alcoholism, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
gentle_garbage_baby'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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Violence, Mental illness, Drug use, Addiction, Blood, Drug abuse, Sexual content, and Sexism
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Alcohol, Car accident, Rape, and Sexual assault
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
random19379's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Sexual content, Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Grief, Rape, Mental illness, Gore, Death, Death of parent, Torture, Addiction, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts
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
valentinaambrosius's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Rape, Alcoholism, and Death of parent
Minor: Terminal illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Panic attacks/disorders
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