A review by cams
La maison des feuilles by Mark Z. Danielewski

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This review is going all over the place, just like the book itself. Anyway.

Ever since I've heard about this book, I've wanted to read it. And I did. And I am baffled by magical and surreal this book is. The author is an utter genius who can bring the reader with him in his characters' worst phobias and psychosis and most humanly behaviour. However, I was kind of disappointed with the ending of the book itself, the ending of the Navidson Record. I was way more interested in the annexes of the book where we discover more abt what happened to the Ash tree Lane House and about Johnny, the man who re-writes the whole Navidson Record after his predecesso  died while doing it. 
We actually follow two storyline: The Navidson Record and what happens in that hellish house, how it moves, adapts to its owners' psychology, how deadly it is. 
The 2nd storyline is Johnny Errand's journey to finish what Zampanò did not : transcribing the Navidson Record files. We also follow him through his life while he slowly descends into pure and utterly madness. The latter due to him finishing writing the Navidson Record. 
Both storyline are crafted like diamonds, the reader is driven into the story and the reader doesn't even realise it until it's too late. 

The book will leave you overthinking every details of it. It will creep on you when you don't even think of it. 
This book is beautifully crafted. It is a little diamond. Truly. Most atypical read.

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