Reviews with content warning for Forced institutionalization - House of Leaves

The amount of effort and work that went into House of Leaves is something that I can really appreciate. There were certain sections where the creepiness of the darkness inside the house was truly palpable but anytime that I was close to diving deep into that horror, the academic style of writing took me away from it. At times I was also really interested in the academic discussions regarding subjects ranging from physics to history and linguistics, but it was truly difficult to call it an enjoyable experience.
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.

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unfinishedduet's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

4.75

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transdankovsky's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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abandonedmegastructure's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

House of Leaves explores the very limits of what can be done with ink on paper.

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.

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cuppachaii's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

I don't even know what to say. This is my favourite book. It makes sense that it's becoming popular right now, since --despite coming out twenty years ago-- it blends all the current horror trends of lost media, liminal horror, analogue horror, and coded-lore-horror. I cannot recommend this enough for someone who wants to read a really difficult book and flip wildly between footnotes, indexes, and appendices to reveal some of the most subtle, creeping horror I've read. This is the only horror novel that's gotten me so scared it stopped me in my tracks, and it did it several times. The way it accomplishes this is by getting under your skin and slowly worming its way into your psyche so it can rearrange itself (ha) without you noticing. This book was good enough that my illiterate ass pushed through and read a paper copy (which you must do).

If you like books that get you obsessed, scouring forums, and uncovering secrets: read this. I cannot suggest it highly enough. It's impossible to describe the plot in less than a paragraph, which is the point. This is the kind of book you want to discuss with other fans as you make a spiderweb of twine on a corkboard. If you like subtle horror and interesting writing, read this. Do not miss this book.

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lookleft's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

What a mesmerising book. Truly special and haunting. A horror story and a love story, separate and together. I love the way it plays with the look of the text and uses that to create atmosphere and tension.

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