Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

130 reviews

hazelbynature's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Confinement, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, Gore, Incest, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Infidelity, Rape, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Body horror

Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Excrement

avacadosocks's review

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Animal death, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Gore, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Violence

Minor: Terminal illness, Incest, Vomit, Cancer, and Pedophilia

whitelotusreads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No

4.75

This is my first dive into ergodic literature and I think my mind went into an overdrive and now I’m just exhausted. Drained, even. Like reading it slowly chipped at me that by the time I reached the epistolary parts towards the end, it was almost as though I was at the same mental wavelength as Pelafina.

Overall, a very unique reading experience for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Alcoholism

Moderate: Violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Minor: Sexual violence, Suicide, and Animal death

rowbean's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Drug use, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Rape, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Body horror, Addiction, and Alcoholism

badtzmarus's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Very cool book! It contains several themes and everyone that has read it leaves with different perspectives, great if you want a more long-term book, you really shouldn't rush into finishing it, or if you want to revisit it months after you first read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Death, Grief, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Sexual content

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail

Some of the johnny parts are kinda tense and may make you uncomfortable, but will make sense to really get the guy later on, I'd advise you to not skip anything, but if graphic sex scenes are not your thing go for it.

thesupermassive's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Animal death

Moderate: Addiction, Sexual assault, Rape, Grief, Drug use, and Death of parent

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Animal death, Drug use, Addiction, Medical content, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual content

Moderate: Sexual assault, Car accident, Child death, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Excrement, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, and War

sasquatch_3's review

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Sexual content, Medical content, Mental illness, Cursing, Drug use, Alcoholism, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, and Grief

Moderate: Blood, Violence, Gun violence, Body horror, Torture, and Cancer

wackydopamine's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Sexual content, Death, Sexual assault, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Child abuse, Gun violence, and Suicide

rachelditty's review

dark mysterious 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

3.0

Picked this up on a whim after finding another book by Danielewski at a thrift store. I'm glad I read this--it was really fun to flip back and forth between stories and the index/additional material added to the end of the bind-up. I was really drawn in, especially when the format started shifting into something nontraditional. 

I think the part I was most attentive to was when the Minotaur section that was mostly scratched out kept sending the reader back and forth and all around a bunch of different foot notes. It was extremely meta and had me giddy, honestly.

I feel like I came away from this read with less than I should have, in all honesty.  There were three entirely separate storylines and I only really cared about them halfheartedly, and even when they all wrapped up I still had questions and didn't care as much as I was expecting to or wanted to. I was glad the Navidson family was able to find some kind of closure, but I'm not entirely sure what the last story about the baby from Johnny was supposed to give us. There's just so much to this book that I know I've missed things and that there's way, way more to take from it, but I don't have any more energy to put toward this, and I also don't feel very motivated to do so anyway. 

Some quotes I liked:

"I took my morning walk, I took my evening walk, I ate something, I thought about something, I wrote something, I napped and dreamt something too, and with all that something, I still have nothing because so much of sum'things has always been and always will be you.
I miss you," (p. 547).

"It seemed right to him,/ not at long last/ but right along the way.
Where I've been./ Where I am,/ he said and then sighing/ added--
I'd like to return one day/ if only for a little while/ to drink something warm," (p. 580).

It was fun, it was entertaining, but I don't think it's gong to stick with me as much the internet seemed to think it should.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical content, Grief, Drug use, Murder, Death, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence