Obviously, I didn't figure it out in my 5.5 minutes of peace. The one thing I was absolutely convinced of, though, was that no matter what the book was, none of my friends would ever tackle that chaotic, bizarre, and (no doubt) indecipherable tome. When I exited the bathroom, I immediately walked over to my friend Paco and promptly explained to him that I was completely sure that, in no-matter-how-many years, none of our friends would ever read that book. None of them, ever.
Thank you Chad for revealing both my naïveté and the awesomeness of this book. First off, three of my friends had already read the damn thing (Lacey, Nate, and Chad). Secondly, they all have (now demonstrated) good taste in literature. House of Leaves is an underestimated jewel of a book.
The first thing any reader of House of Leaves would have to notice is the bizarre layout. This book is an example of (what I subsequently learned to be called) ergodic literature. That is, the author experiments with and
utilizes
bizarre and innovative
layouts
and
structures .
House of Leaves exercises the 'fourth dimension' of literature. That is, style, format, color, orientation, shapes, schemas, and the visual composition of the text all contribute to the work in their unusual ways. Though off-putting and seemingly random at first, you quickly come to realize when reading this book that the author not only purposefully sculpted every bizarre turn, but also did so with an unanticipated and fantastic acumen. The layout of the text parallels and enhances the actions, themes, ideas, environments, pathos, and states of mind that are being communicated in House of Leaves. The author masterfully manipulates the text into complex patterns to match his equally complex world. As the author writes on page 71, “Incoherent – yes. Without meaning – I'm afraid not.”
And as the reader discovers, this book has so much more to offer than just a new, kooky way to lay out text. The layout is just the visual manifestation of this book's consciousness. First off, the author employs complex and inventive layered points of view. From first person, to second person, to third person, to editorial, to meta-editorial, to documentarial, and to innumerable other perspectives, this story is told from all angles. It is a cool twist on telling a story. Also, the writing styles in this book are as multifarious as you would find in Ulysses or the Bible. Danielewski samples from and parodies everything: journaling, documentary, horror story, mystery, personal correspondence, academia, psychological studies, movie scripts, endless lists, religious epistles, mystic ramblings, philosophical ponderings, historical snippets, and on and on. Reading this book is refreshingly interactive because you are constantly switching gears, turning the book upside down, skipping sections, and flipping back and forth between appendices and exhibits. To be sure, the text requires a fairly disciplined focused, but rewards you with an engaging, dynamic rhythm.
One thing that needs to be said is that, regardless of how complicated this book seems at times, the whole thing comes together so beautifully and is designed with such attentiveness that the end result is surprisingly digestible for the reader. Where I would be more reticent to suggest, say, Infinite Jest or Gravity's Rainbow to most people, House of Leaves proves itself to have that desirable balance between substance/power and accessibility. Though certainly not for the uncommitted, House of Leaves appears a lot more intimidating than it turns out to be. This is a good thing, I think.
Meanwhile, this book takes the reader on an in-depth and in-yo-face exploration of mental illness, suicide, drug addiction, paranoia, abuse, pain, obsession, love, familial disfunction, cult followings, the inevitable end, and the basic fear that lives deep in all of us. We get to peek into the dark recesses of the mind with a critical (and kind of funny) magnifying glass.
A major concept in House of Leaves is that of the Labyrinth. Both in narrative and layout, the reader follows a maze, complete with dead ends and a sense of disorientation, through the lives of the characters. Searching deeper, exploring further into the labyrinth, the maze, the house, and the characters pushes the searcher deeper into one's self, closer to themselves, finding unexplored parts of their minds and being. The characters themselves react to this introspective journey in a variety of ways (mostly, not so well...). Some characters psychiatrically devolve, some turn to existential crutches, some are scarred, some kill, and some die. In any event, this journey to the center of the Labyrinth is a critical event in life. I suppose the reader is supposed to transpose this explorative/revelatory theme upon themselves, but what will you discover?
I will say just one last thing and then let you be on your way. One method that Danielewski employs really well in House of Leaves is to blur the line between reality and imagination. Throughout the book, it is suggested to the reader that aspects of the story are based on real-world facts. I realize that I haven't at all explained the plot of the book in this review, but trust me, it would be futile at this point. Suffice it to say that Danielewski toys with the concept of fact/fiction, real/unreal. Like the movie Adaptation, the War of the Worlds broadcast, or the Blair Witch Project, the reader walks away from House of Leaves with this eerie sense of possibility. Maybe the House really exists? Maybe Zampano really wrote that manuscript? Maybe this text is a crazy amalgam of fact and fiction, and maybe I am a part of it's evolution? Let's hope note!!!
Quotes:
“ This not only applies to the house but to the film itself. From the outset of The Navidson Record, we are involved in a labyrinth, meandering from one celluloid cell to the next, trying to peek around the next edit in hopes of finding a solution, a centre, a sense of whole, only to discover another sequence, leading in a completely different direction, a continually devolving discourse, promising the possibility of discovery while all along dissolving into chaotic ambiguities too blurry to ever completely comprehend.” - 114
“I have no idea whether it's on purpose or not. Sometimes I'm certain it is. Other times I'm sure it's just one big f*cking train wreck.” - 149
“This is not for you.” - the first page of the introduction
