There's little to say to describe House of Leaves. It can't be described. It covers every genre - horror, suspense, mystery, romance, sci-fi, historical, and endless others - and in the same breath, it covers none of them. I suppose that's the attraction to such an expansive story as this.
The book begins with a lengthy intro covering a man named Johnny Truant's discovery of an old man named Zampano's hefty pile of writings, describing in-depth the mysteries behind a documentary dubbed The Navidson Record. The improbabilities behind the documentary send Truant into an obsessed state, causing him to slowly lose his mind. Truant's slow progression into insanity is tracked through Leaves, as is the explication on The Navidson Record by Zampano; Truant's story, including his past recollections, odd wanderings and crude adventures with the female species, are tracked in elongated footnotes, while Navidson remains the center of the story.
Most would think this Navidson Record is some alien-infested Area 51-infiltrating piece of horror work. Not so. The documentary is really quite simple to follow: Will Navidson and his family discover that the new house they have moved into does not have equal indoor and outdoor dimensions. Try as he might, Will's measurements always differ by 1/4". But once his brother Tom gets into the mix, the measurements change. A door that wasn't there before appears on a wall. And the hallway becomes an endless crypt, containing secrets only those who dedicated their entire lives to the dark chasm would have a modicum of chance of discovering. And those secrets are at the top of Will's priority list. Besides, who wouldn't be fascinated by a staircase that takes three days to descend?
Danielewski has a wicked, yet completely thorough way of uncovering the stories of each of his characters. Will's is first covered through his wife, Karen; hers are through her present and future actions. Truant's is found in many ways: through his own expansive, but oftentimes incorrectly recalled, memories; through additional elements in the book, like his mother's letters to him when he was young; and through his screwed up priorities involving booze, drugs and sex.
Progressing through two stories at once can confuse, but it is foremost fascinating how the numerous tales are intertwined. Zampano's and Truant's multiple references to historical poems & books and a variety of news articles and writings authenticate the story, making the existence of such a house believable and real. Almost makes you wonder if its own Ash Tree Lane really does exist...
The book begins with a lengthy intro covering a man named Johnny Truant's discovery of an old man named Zampano's hefty pile of writings, describing in-depth the mysteries behind a documentary dubbed The Navidson Record. The improbabilities behind the documentary send Truant into an obsessed state, causing him to slowly lose his mind. Truant's slow progression into insanity is tracked through Leaves, as is the explication on The Navidson Record by Zampano; Truant's story, including his past recollections, odd wanderings and crude adventures with the female species, are tracked in elongated footnotes, while Navidson remains the center of the story.
Most would think this Navidson Record is some alien-infested Area 51-infiltrating piece of horror work. Not so. The documentary is really quite simple to follow: Will Navidson and his family discover that the new house they have moved into does not have equal indoor and outdoor dimensions. Try as he might, Will's measurements always differ by 1/4". But once his brother Tom gets into the mix, the measurements change. A door that wasn't there before appears on a wall. And the hallway becomes an endless crypt, containing secrets only those who dedicated their entire lives to the dark chasm would have a modicum of chance of discovering. And those secrets are at the top of Will's priority list. Besides, who wouldn't be fascinated by a staircase that takes three days to descend?
Danielewski has a wicked, yet completely thorough way of uncovering the stories of each of his characters. Will's is first covered through his wife, Karen; hers are through her present and future actions. Truant's is found in many ways: through his own expansive, but oftentimes incorrectly recalled, memories; through additional elements in the book, like his mother's letters to him when he was young; and through his screwed up priorities involving booze, drugs and sex.
Progressing through two stories at once can confuse, but it is foremost fascinating how the numerous tales are intertwined. Zampano's and Truant's multiple references to historical poems & books and a variety of news articles and writings authenticate the story, making the existence of such a house believable and real. Almost makes you wonder if its own Ash Tree Lane really does exist...
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