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A review by hakimbriki
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
5.0
The Found footage/ cinema vérité genre has always aroused my curiosity. When done right*, these movies provide real cathartic effects - some may also cause panic attacks (ahum); their "realism" makes suspension of disbelief an easier process and the viewing experience more visceral and disturbing.
House of Leaves was published in 2000, when the Found Footage movie phenomenon was still at its infancy †. Back then, people thought The Blair Witch was real, and countless young film makers wanted to jump on the shaky cam bandwagon. House of Leaves (and The Navidson Record) was, interestingly enough, way ahead of its time.
Granted, Mark Z. Danielewski's debut novel is a lot more than just a dissertation on a documentary about a found footage film. It is a multi-layered, often times daunting and overwhelming cluster of stories about love, loss, depression, darkness and the complexities of the human mind.
It is very difficult to summarize the very rich plot in only a few lines, but let's give it a shot. It is the story of Johnny Truant, an unstable apprentice tattoo artist in his early twenties who stumbles upon a weird manuscript and scribbled notes at a dead old man (Zampanò)'s appartment. The manuscript is about an academic study of a fictitious‡ documentary film called The Navidson Record, which investigates the phenomenon of a house that is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.
The book starts off with an introduction by our narrator, Johnny, who tries to make sense of the manuscript as the story written by Zampanò unfolds. At some point, the texts start causing Truant panic attacks and releases from reality. Let me say upfront that Johnny's (despite being our only window into Zampano's account of the Navidson record) reports were the weakest part (or layer) of the story, in my opinion. Johnny's off-putting, whiny rambling obsessions left me cold and uninterested. The character is just not that likeable or exciting.
The best part of the book is the Navidson story. The first thing that struck me about it is the astounding richness of the mythos. Not only does Mark Z. Danielewski (or Zampanò in the Novel) deliver some of the most interesting character studies I have come across lately, but he also used a format◊ that enhanced the story, made it even more remarkable and fascinating.
The Navidson record is very, very spooky. Will "Navy" Navidson is a Pulitzer Prize winning photo-journalist who acquired a new house in Virginia with his lover, Karen Green, and their two kids, Chad and Daisy. Navidson decides to document the family's moving into the new house. All goes smoothly until he discovers that the house is 1/2 inch bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. Things get weirder as the mystery progresses, and as it turns out, there is far more to the House than meets the eye- an ever-growing abyss, a maze with ever-changing dimensions "stands" behind a closet door and changes the lives of every single character in the story. Having heard of the truly scary aspect of the book, I was ready to endure the lengthy footnotes and whatnot, but nothing prepared me to such a surprisingly deep and unique approach to storytelling. The different takes and academic studies on the effects the House on Ash Tree Lane has on the characters was utterly staggering, and the weirdness of the descriptions of the house and its eerie "features" is on par with anything written by Lovecraft. This is what made this reading experience magnificent.
The influence Johnny has over The Navidson Record is somewhat problematic as I would have preferred reading the two unrelated narratives separately ✠, but the sheer emotional effect the book had on me lands House of Leaves 5 stars. Danielewski screwed with my head and blew my mind with his unsettling architectural/Sci-fi concepts and character study.
The author refuses to sell the movie rights, and I am glad he does. No filmmaker can possibly do justice to this incredible book.
________________________________________________________________________
* The Poughkeepsie Tapes, Megan is Missing, Marble Hornets (webseries), The Last Broadcast, VHS... **
** Mostly independent films. Sadly, a large number of FF movies have the tendency of being dull, predictable and nothing but a cheap money grab.
† The earliest example of FF movies is the very controversial 1980 film, Cannibal Holocaust. However, the first movie that introduced the genre to the masses, popularized the phenomenon and made well over two-hundred million dollars at the box office is The Blair Witch Project (1999).
‡ Or is it ? (See Appendix III in the book).
◊ Some call it "gimmick". "The format and structure of the novel is unconventional, with unusual page layout and style, making it a prime example of ergodic literature. It contains copious footnotes, many of which contain footnotes themselves, including references to fictional books, films or articles." (Wikipedia).
✠ The Navidson Record and Johnny Truant's reaction to the Navidson records, his ramblings about his life and emotional state/steam of consciousness.
House of Leaves was published in 2000, when the Found Footage movie phenomenon was still at its infancy †. Back then, people thought The Blair Witch was real, and countless young film makers wanted to jump on the shaky cam bandwagon. House of Leaves (and The Navidson Record) was, interestingly enough, way ahead of its time.
Granted, Mark Z. Danielewski's debut novel is a lot more than just a dissertation on a documentary about a found footage film. It is a multi-layered, often times daunting and overwhelming cluster of stories about love, loss, depression, darkness and the complexities of the human mind.
It is very difficult to summarize the very rich plot in only a few lines, but let's give it a shot. It is the story of Johnny Truant, an unstable apprentice tattoo artist in his early twenties who stumbles upon a weird manuscript and scribbled notes at a dead old man (Zampanò)'s appartment. The manuscript is about an academic study of a fictitious‡ documentary film called The Navidson Record, which investigates the phenomenon of a house that is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.
The book starts off with an introduction by our narrator, Johnny, who tries to make sense of the manuscript as the story written by Zampanò unfolds. At some point, the texts start causing Truant panic attacks and releases from reality. Let me say upfront that Johnny's (despite being our only window into Zampano's account of the Navidson record) reports were the weakest part (or layer) of the story, in my opinion. Johnny's off-putting, whiny rambling obsessions left me cold and uninterested. The character is just not that likeable or exciting.
The best part of the book is the Navidson story. The first thing that struck me about it is the astounding richness of the mythos. Not only does Mark Z. Danielewski (or Zampanò in the Novel) deliver some of the most interesting character studies I have come across lately, but he also used a format◊ that enhanced the story, made it even more remarkable and fascinating.
The Navidson record is very, very spooky. Will "Navy" Navidson is a Pulitzer Prize winning photo-journalist who acquired a new house in Virginia with his lover, Karen Green, and their two kids, Chad and Daisy. Navidson decides to document the family's moving into the new house. All goes smoothly until he discovers that the house is 1/2 inch bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. Things get weirder as the mystery progresses, and as it turns out, there is far more to the House than meets the eye- an ever-growing abyss, a maze with ever-changing dimensions "stands" behind a closet door and changes the lives of every single character in the story. Having heard of the truly scary aspect of the book, I was ready to endure the lengthy footnotes and whatnot, but nothing prepared me to such a surprisingly deep and unique approach to storytelling. The different takes and academic studies on the effects the House on Ash Tree Lane has on the characters was utterly staggering, and the weirdness of the descriptions of the house and its eerie "features" is on par with anything written by Lovecraft. This is what made this reading experience magnificent.
The influence Johnny has over The Navidson Record is somewhat problematic as I would have preferred reading the two unrelated narratives separately ✠, but the sheer emotional effect the book had on me lands House of Leaves 5 stars. Danielewski screwed with my head and blew my mind with his unsettling architectural/Sci-fi concepts and character study.
The author refuses to sell the movie rights, and I am glad he does. No filmmaker can possibly do justice to this incredible book.
________________________________________________________________________
* The Poughkeepsie Tapes, Megan is Missing, Marble Hornets (webseries), The Last Broadcast, VHS... **
** Mostly independent films. Sadly, a large number of FF movies have the tendency of being dull, predictable and nothing but a cheap money grab.
† The earliest example of FF movies is the very controversial 1980 film, Cannibal Holocaust. However, the first movie that introduced the genre to the masses, popularized the phenomenon and made well over two-hundred million dollars at the box office is The Blair Witch Project (1999).
‡ Or is it ? (See Appendix III in the book).
◊ Some call it "gimmick". "The format and structure of the novel is unconventional, with unusual page layout and style, making it a prime example of ergodic literature. It contains copious footnotes, many of which contain footnotes themselves, including references to fictional books, films or articles." (Wikipedia).
✠ The Navidson Record and Johnny Truant's reaction to the Navidson records, his ramblings about his life and emotional state/steam of consciousness.