House of Leaves

First. The rating for Uniqueness is 5/5, Enjoyment 1/5, and overall a 3/5. The Summary also is not in my opinion entirely correct and is an unreliable narration much like the commentary by Johnny Truant himself in the novel. The summary provided is a half-truth at best.

So I will provide my summary of the book here to provide a better context of the journey you would have to undertake to read the book.

This book is the Blair Witch Project of Novels. It is put together by the main character/commentator/first editor of the project Johnny Truant that “finds” or rather is pointed to a trunk filled with notes, pages, and commentary on a movie that doesn't exist put together by a man that is found dead in his shut-in apartment. This starts Johnny down a rabbit hole of compiling, sorting, and trying to verify the work he has inherited (so to speak). The Movie in question, which is analyzed and commentated on in an academic style, is one that no one can agree on is real or fake about the House that is bigger on the inside. Here is where the other summary enters on an American Family trying to adapt to rural living that stumbles into a riddle, a changing house. Of course, the movie doesn't exist to Johnny's knowledge. Nonetheless, we are taken through the journey of Johnny as he puts together the papers and tries to form the book as we read through pages of academic critique, Johnny's musings, and struggles, and step by step breakdowns of the Movie. And we start to see what this Movie, this House, does to people that look too close.

Now at least you have a better idea of what the story is. It is a fragmented story of multiple people, thrown together like a college thesis. A college thesis plus a journal of the drunk student writing the paper.

I don't love this book like I thought I would but I don't hate it either. I'd never read it again though.
As others say it is not an easy read. Though a pro tip after trying and failing many times over the last 12 years to read the damn thing, the ebook proved to save me. The ebook does away with a lot of the annoying mirror pages and upside-down text. Though you'll still have one or few word pages to flip through.

It didn't meet my expectations of a Haunted House or even a Horror novel though plenty is terrifying about the book. And you do have to become a bit obsessed to finish the damn thing. Turning page after page hoping some clarity is found on the next, never really getting that satisfaction either.

Mark Danielewski is a good writer, a strong creator of prose, which he very purposely chooses to suck at in certain places, knowingly enhancing the unnerving sensation in those portions. Everything in this book seems like an artistic choice. An Art project to be sure.

“For some reason, you will no longer be the person you believed you once were. You'll detect slow and subtle shifts going on all around you, more importantly, shifts in you. Worse, you'll realize it's always been shifting, like a shimmer of sorts, a vast shimmer, only dark like a room. But you won't understand why or how.”
― Mark Z. Danielewski, House of Leaves

But the real question is, is it worth the read? Worth the trudging through unnecessary pages on the science of Echos? Yes and no. It is worth it to read an experimental styled book, that is creative to the Nth degree. And it's a cult classic, so are you a “true” horror fan if you haven't? It's not worth it for everyone is what I'd say and if you are good at skimming that will help you a lot as the Echo pages did not add anything to the story!

The bit that I do enjoy is for one a better understanding of something that has inspired a lot of other fiction works and projects. And if you enjoy the metaphor digging and between the lines analyzation of literary works you can have a field day at what Mark was trying to convey with this convoluted Debut. I believe it is an amazing and weird commentary to be sure, one that leaves you wanting like most true mysteries in life.

I do believe that this book would have been stronger if a lot of the weird fat had been cut and more meat had been added to the main stories. But it wouldn't be House of Leaves if they had done that.

If you can persevere through the jumbled made up scholars discussing sound acoustics and other impertinent information I think it's worth the struggle if for no other reason to say you did it.

And if you enjoy the book or just like the idea and can't make it through the book. Check out the Podcast Tanis. Which in my opinion takes the best ideas and vibes of House and Leaves and makes it enjoyable. It is its own story but there are key elements that are very familiar.

Happy hunting, good luck, and don't lose your mind trying to find sense in these pages.