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Book Review of House of Leaves

House of Leaves
perryfran avatar reviewed on + 1173 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4


What an amazing piece of work! I finished reading this last night - at least I think I am finished. I say I think I am finished because one could study this labyrinthian book for years and not be sure everything was read and comprehended correctly. A very multi-layered book with several stories woven together in bizaare fashion to form a mind-boggling journey into fear/love/mystery/insanity??? I'm still not sure what this all meant but it was quite a journey getting there. Was the "Navidson Record" an illusion of the editor, Johnny Truant (who seemed to stretch the truth here and there) or did it all come from the mind of the old man Zampano? This was sometimes like reading a textbook with all the footnotes and references (both real and unreal).

The "Navidson Record" part of the book was really quite bizarre and reminded me somewhat of the movie "The Blair Witch Project" with the amateur photography, etc. It went from strange to very strange with some humor thrown in -- I especially enjoyed the jokes related by Tom (Navidson's brother)when he was waiting at the top of the endless spiral staircase. Then there were all the details about house construction, echoes, labyrinths and the minotaur, Jamestown and the group that was lost in the winter, the Pulitzer-prize winning photo of Delial and the vulture taken by Navidson which was based on Kevin Carter's real Pulitzer-prize winning photo, and on and on.

Johnny Truant's story was also very interesting along with the story of his mother in the mental institution (has anyone decoded the letter on page 620?). Like I said, I think I could try to study this book for months, look up more of the footnotes, etc., but I do have other books to read.