Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

56 reviews

ggcd1981's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Eu remei esse livro, o que não deveria ter me surpreendido. House of leaves é uma obra a qual eu tinha ouvido vários Booktubers falar sobre, a maioria deles dando boas notas. Contudo todos os booktubers que vi deram o aviso de que o livro “não é para todo mundo” e que você precisa pesquisar para compreendê-lo melhor, e, segundo muitos, esse é um texto presunçoso. A proposta inicial é que a obra consiste de uma história dentro de uma história dentro de outra história. Todas essas informações sobre House of Leaves despertaram minha curiosidade, mas após a leitura do mesmo vejo que eu não sou a leitora para ele. Sendo justa com a obra minha leitura começou em desvantagem pois não tenho a cópia física então tive que ler a cópia digital para kindle e adaptação para esse formato teve problemas. Isso tornou a leitura um pouco distante da intencionada pelo autor e representou uma dificuldade a mais em um livro que já tem obstáculos por natureza. House of leaves faz diversas referências a uma ampla gama de fontes nas mais diversas áreas de interesse, Física, Mitologia Grega, Arquitetura, Psicologia, etc. Eu comecei tentando pesquisar as informações, mas se tornou cansativo bem rápido. No momento em que estou em minha vida não quis dedicar tanto tempo e esforço a um único livro que não estava me prendendo tanto. A obra não é ruim e com certeza é bastante original, mas a sensação geral que tive foi de uma boa história diluída em um monte de informações que muitas vezes não adicionam muito (por exemplo uma interminável lista de nomes de fotógrafos). A narrativa que o autor chama de The Navidson Records está no coração de House of Leaves, um suposto documentário de um evento inexplicável ocorrido na casa da família Navidson. A existência desse documentário é questionada no próprio livro, mas a partir dele se inicia a narrativa de Zampanò, e a partir dessas duas se inicia a narrativa de Johnny Truant. A história do documentário é a mais interessante e a mais próxima de ser coerente. As histórias de Zampanò e de Johnny são mais desconexas e cheias de buracos. Mas em geral ler essa obra é como tentar ouvir uma narrativa contada por alguém absurdamente dispersivo. Quando este narrador começa o conto ele logo envereda por uma tangente e nela se aprofunda, quando você não lembra mais do que ocorria no conto original o narrador retorna a este deixando você completamente perdido e cortando qualquer tipo de emoção que você deveria sentir durante a história. Essas muitas interrupções e tangentes que, diversas vezes, não tinham qualquer real relevância para o texto, acontecem durante todo livro diluindo os pontos de interesse e deixando meus sentimentos sobre a obra “Mornos”.

Um ponto que não gostei da história, por se sensível a crueldade contra animais, foi um momento em que um cachorrinho foi morto de forma cruel. Eu realmente gostaria que autores achassem outra forma de mostrar que um personagem é mau. Outro ponto que achei irritante foi que todas as personagens femininas no livro foram sexualizadas mesmo quando não havia necessidade. Desde de Karen Green, esposa de Will Navidson, a todas as mulheres com quem Johnny Truant interagiu. As mulheres nesse livro pareciam existir em função dos personagens masculinos. Fosse como esposa de Navidson, como mãe de Johnny ou um simples encontro sexual ou fantasia do mesmo, as mulheres em House of Leaves giram ao redor dos personagens masculinos e existem para cumprir uma função na história desses. Um elemento que me surpreendeu na obra foi o realismo dos ataques de pânico de Johnny. Eu não esperava e quase foi um gatilho para mim, mas, mesmo assim, apreciei a representação. Em geral minha opinião é que há histórias interessantes no livro, mas elas se encontram diluídas no excesso de informação desnecessária. Informação esta que foi incluída por questões de estilo e não de pertinência a narrativa. Aliás fica claro que o estilo é prioridade em House of Leaves em detrimento do story telling. Se o autor pelo menos tivesse sido mais coeso e objetivo nas divagações o texto prenderia muito mais e não sentiria tão forte que o livro se auto sabota ao desarmar toda tensão, apreensão, medo, enfim qualquer emoção com tangentes longas, incoerentes e tediosas. Isso também contribuiu para a sensação de que os “finais positivos” para as histórias de Navidson e Truant não foram merecidos ou se quer fizeram sentido. A impressão passada é de que Mark Z. Danielewski queria aqueles finais para os personagens e foi isso.

Enfim, eu aprecio que o autor tentou fazer algo diferente e original. Existe mérito nisso, contudo o resultado me deixou com a sensação de que poderia der sido melhor. Assim, dou 3 estrelas, o livro foi acima da média porem me deixou com as frustrações de que o meu “esforço não foi o suficiente” e do que a história “poderia ter sido”.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, Abandonment, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexual content, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Confinement, Death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Car accident, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Ableism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape and Excrement

octopus_farmer's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I was told this book would “fuck me up”. Perhaps not in the expected way - my brain does feel fried - but it felt more like Devotion where all the horror just becomes sadness and grief. I also liked the ribbing at academia through all the bizarre citations and petty arguments. Not life-changing, but a fun read to confound others with.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Blood, Confinement, and Death

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Sexual assault

random19379's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• 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

---

Content Warnings

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

sonnygrey's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

---

Content Warnings

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

maiahhtratchh's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Gosh. This book was a trip. I LOVED parts and I HATED parts. I did really enjoy the style and the letters either Johnny’s mother was probably one of the most interesting/heartbreaking parts. Honestly I’ll probably read it again one day and maybe I’ll get more out of it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Sexual content

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts

bark's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Drug use, Death, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Car accident, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Animal death, Violence, Cursing, Murder, Forced institutionalization, and Drug abuse

my_corner_of_the_library's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

My feelings on The House of Leaves are so complicated... By the end of this book I felt that I could give it any rating between 1 and 5 and make a convincing argument for why it fits there. After a day to let it sit I ultimately decided to give it 4 stars...

The Writing

How do I even talk about this...I feel like I could both boast and rant about the writing of this book. I feel like I need to break this down into a few different parts.

John's POV

I would have loved getting John's POV if I wasn't so annoyed by it. The decision to incorporate the POV of someone experiencing the story with us was such a unique and amazing thing to read, however...It felt like it didn't come a satisfying conclusion and ultimately was unreliable and useless given the fact that

it quickly become clear that John had inherited his mother's schizophrenia and was experiencing the onset through paranoia and hallucinations triggered by the House of Leaves

. At the same time getting John's POV as he worked to bring the book to life and make sense of it all and give his commentary really added an extra layer to the story.

Zampano's POV/The Meta Analysis

This was...interesting. I absolutely loved when the formatting would change and become obscure. It felt as though it added an extra level of immersion to the story. Spirling down the staircase with the characters, and having the lines draw out into a tight three lines while crawling through a tight space gave a unique experience that I will be longing to find in other books.

Now, I'm not sure if the analytic writing style added or took from the story. It often felt like we were going on random rants that were meant to show just how smart Zampano thought he was, but at the same time it all eventually felt necessary and useful, like the analysis of the meaning of echo's that ultimately

taught us just how massive the house and hallways were.

The Plot

I adored the actual story of this book. It felt real and at the same time insane and supernatural. It didn't feel like any characters were safe and I felt as though I never knew what would happen or how it would end. I found myself physically gasping on several occasions. I kept feeling like I understood what was happening and how things would go, only for the exact opposite to happen.

It was interesting and captivating.

Conclusion

There are many many many other aspects of this book I could touch on, but I feel like I'll need several re-reads before I am actually in a place to give a critical analysis.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Death, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Alcohol, Blood, Drug use, and Sexual content

Moderate: Child abuse

aubreyhi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

House of Leaves remains one of my favorite novels. The playfulness with which the author looks at cinema, academia, Hollywood, masculinity, photography ... literature. It's a gorgeous piece of art, doesn't seem like it would be as much fun without the physicality of the book. Like a film, the author uses font and typsetting to engage the reader in time and space. You sit with the novel, it sits with you.

I won't tell you what it's about ... plenty of other reviews do that. Instead, I will say if you are interested in language or film or space or placemaking or grief or mental illness or explorations within this is the book for you.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence, Violence, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts

miagw962's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

...and this great blue world of ours seems a house of leaves moments before the wind.

What a wild ride! Didn't really know what to expect with this one so kind of went into it blind. I had a feeling it would blow me away and it did to some extent (but maybe not in the way I thought it would). I've heard people discuss this book and say how life-changing it was, how disturbing, 'they couldn't have the physical book in their room while they slept' things like that. I kind of wanted to feel something so intense like that but I didn't. I just felt that this was a really well-constructed and thought-provoking story. Endlessly interesting and frustrating, it continually held my focus and kept me thinking what would happen next. I love the story-within-a-story concept and I think Danielewski did such a good job at creating such an ambiguous piece to be interpreted by many. Who really wrote House of Leaves? I'm of the house of thought that Zampano wrote all of it, even Johnny's parts. Also, I very much believe that Zampano inserted himself into the narrative in the form of

Tom. He literally refers to Tom as 'me' on page 320. I really really love that theory because Tom's relationship to Navy was so interesting.

Definitely something I need to do more research on.

Anyway, this book was just so interactive in the way that yes, you physically have to move the book around to read some parts but you also have to think really hard about what it all means. OR you don't have to think hard and just read it at face value. There are a lot of passages that critically analyse aspects of the fictitious plot that we are reading about AS YOU READ IT which was super cool and also gave me many more ideas. Overall, I just did have a great time with this book. In my opinion, it all boils down to family relationships - everything you are is related to what your parents were to you. Your relationship with your siblings also affects the way you think and act. Your relationship to your spouse and your children also fuels your actions and feelings. At every twist and turn, whether from The Navidson Record or from Johnny's perspective, it all boiled down to relationships (

Johnny has some pretty lame ideas about women but this could be argued to have come from his understanding of his mother but I won't get into that

). House of Leaves was a family drama - it wasn't perfect but it was pretty damn beautiful.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders

nodogsonthemoon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence