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

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad 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

Exhaustively ambitious and a mammoth task to read. Sometimes I would be irate as I read because of how many times it changes layout and style. But I wouldn't be a member of the 'Finished House of Leaves' Club if it didn't claw my interest. And I wouldn't be thinking non-stop about it if the story wasn't gripping or effective (and affective [1]).

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1. The reader of House of Leaves fails to mention that it is the The Whalestoe Letters, included in the second edition of the book caused her to inconsolably weep.
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