A review by my_corner_of_the_library
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

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.
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