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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
chloebowie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
If this weren’t a buddy read I don’t think I would’ve finished it.
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Murder, Alcohol, Blood, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Animal death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Rape
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
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
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
5.0
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
- 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
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
rowbean'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: 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
sasquatch_3's review
- 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
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
voidkisses's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Vomit, Addiction, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Body horror, Confinement, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Gaslighting, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
15_79_57_pq's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Body horror
Moderate: Cursing, Rape, and Drug use