Scan barcode
monroebays's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is a book about a man piecing together an unfinished academic book about a documentary about a very strange house. The story of the man working on the book and the book itself make up the majority of the text. As you can imagine, it’s confusing and very layered. At some point, it starts to try to loop you into the story.
Danielewski is obsessed with the mechanics of words, paper, and knowledge. This book presents you with a tangled mess, carefully curated to confuse you, move you, scare you. And because danielewski’s deep knowledge of words is on display, you’re left wondering how fully that mess can be cleaned up into a full narrative if only you read it properly. I finished the book with many mysteries unsolved, but find myself drawn back to the book again to investigate further. If you’ve read the book already, you understand why this effect is probably why the book’s horror is so effective.
At the end of the day, the story is kind of secondary to the reading experience. It’s crazy. It’s fun. It’s dark and sad and weird. Just give it a few chapters and see if it’s for you.
Graphic: Confinement, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Violence, Vomit, Infidelity, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, and War
ethanlaz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Vomit, Sexual content, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Addiction, Violence, Suicide, Medical trauma, Dementia, Cursing, Blood, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Gore, Death, Cancer, Body horror, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Infidelity, Medical content, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
aspenrayne's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Animal death, Child abuse, and Mental illness
Moderate: Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer and Eating disorder
bites_of_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
There are many interpretations about this book, ranging from who is narrating, the true meaning of the house, and even the timeline of events.
I don't think I can recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun book to read, but if you're into deep dives into linguistics, philosophy, poetry, physics, with two side stories that tell the stories of deeply troubled characters.
Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Suicide, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Blood, Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Sexual violence, Rape, Chronic illness, Confinement, and Death
unfinishedduet's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Animal death, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Blood, Alcohol, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Murder
Moderate: Medical content, Child abuse, Addiction, Infidelity, Rape, Vomit, Physical abuse, Car accident, and Gore
abandonedmegastructure's review against another edition
- 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
A suspenseful tale of exploration into the unknown is enhanced with layers of symbolism, discussion, meta-discussion, and mythological allusions. The result is an enthralling novel, fundamentally mysterious yet deeply compelling, which invites its reader to join in the analytical discussions that take center stage from time to time. The book plays with page structure, footnotes, the fourth wall, text markup, and anything else you could imagine. It goes beyond having an unreliable narrator and straight-up invites us to question the narrator's existence; just another part of the fun it's having exploring the concept of writing (not writing - chronicling? depicting? recording? knowing?) itself. It touches on themes of cosmic horror, religion, mental illness, and the human subconscious, though if I had to pin down a single theme I'd say this is a book about absences first and foremost.
I realize I might be making this book sound like a pretentious tome that's more concerned with being clever than being readable. And to be fair, there are some pseudo-academic bits that go on for too long, and they're the reason I'm not giving this a 5/5. But the various narratives interwoven through the book are insanely well-written and evocative (not to mention disturbing), the main characters slowly reveal more of their fascinating yet flawed selves, and the references and metatextual elements add to their stories, rather than distracting from them. Even when viewed purely as a story, House of Leaves holds up extremely well; everything else is just a bonus.
A final thought: I've seen a lot of people call this a horror novel, and I get where they're coming from, but I found the text intriguing more than scary even at the most uncanny points. If you've been put off by the horror label, and would otherwise have considered reading the book, I encourage you to try it out anyway.
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Child abuse, Sexual content, Alcohol, Blood, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Child death, Sexual violence, Body horror, Rape, Infidelity, Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Suicide
lookleft'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
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Minor: Sexual content, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Death, and Rape
itsbumley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, War, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Vomit
mobymaize's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Mental illness, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Violence, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Abandonment, and Vomit
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Lesbophobia
hazelbynature's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Gaslighting, Death, Confinement, Physical abuse, Murder, and Sexual content
Moderate: Incest, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Drug use, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Abandonment, Blood, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Gun violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Body horror, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Excrement, Vomit, Bullying, Terminal illness, and Cancer