In Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves, the author targets the human psyche in a way no other author had ever had the imagination to. In a setting where time and space are no longer set in stone, and human minds can no further comprehend their surroundings, the possibilities are endless.
In House of Leaves, Danielewski creates a mental maze, guiding the reader by the hand, disappearing, and then observing, as if it were a game to see what condition the reader made it to the end in. The reason I say this is that the book has an overwhelming sense of power over the reader's imagination, mostly due to it's documentary style structure, and it's sick fantasy world. The ideas the author's provides are absolutely mesmerizing, and the switch of narrator and plot base is the most masterful I have come across in my eighteen years of book worming.
House of Leaves begins with a first-person narrative by Johnny Truant, a Los Angeles tattoo parlor employee. Truant is searching for a new apartment when his friend Lude tells him about the apartment of the recently deceased Zampano, a blind, elderly man who lived in the building Lude was renting.
In Zampano's apartment, Johnny Truant discovers a manuscript written by Zampano that turns out to be a detailed study of a documentary film called The Navidson Record.
The rest of the novel covers several narratives, including Zampano's report on the fictional film, Johhny's autobiographical pieces, a small tell-tale about Navidson's brother, Tom, a small list of interviews of many people regardingThe Navidson Record by Navidson's wife, Karen, and occasional brief notes by unidentified editors, all woven together by a mass of footnotes. The reader is provided with another narrator, Truant's mother, whose voice is presented through a self-contained set of letters titled The Whalestoe Letters. Each narrator's text is printed in their own, specific font, making it easier for the reader to follow the frequently changing and challenging format of the novel.
I personally absolutely loved this novel, and I'd recommend it to anyone who I know would appreciate this style of writing and plot line. Although commonly identified as a horror novel (and I was definitely able to appreciate it on that level, I could relate to the book better on a level of a love story gone horribly, horribly wrong. Or right, depending on your views. Simply because the walls are shifting, and things are going incredibly awry, and perhaps a bit unorthodox, does not mean there isn't a deeper level of connection between the families of the main character, each rather particular in their type of dysfunction.
The book must be read to be understood, and that's the most that I can provide on this piece of art without starting to sound like a madman. Just know that once you start to read it, you will never, ever, ever want to put it down.
Little P.S. I recommend purchasing the full-color edition, and then reading through, or even joining, some online discussion forums. It's really interesting to see the different interpretations of this book!
