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#1 cowboymonkey21

Member since 2007 • 5297 Posts

What is it? I have heard people talking about it at school, and here at Gamespot. I've read about it on Wiki but I still don't really understand it well, so have any of you read it and if so explain it to me? Thanks.

17 years ago

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#2 foxhound_fox

Member since 2005 • 98532 Posts

A complete mind ****. It takes modern fiction and throws into into a meatgrinder.

17 years ago

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#3 cowboymonkey21

Member since 2007 • 5297 Posts

A complete mind ****. It takes modern fiction and throws into into a meatgrinder.
foxhound_fox

Does that mean you like it?

17 years ago

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#4 foxhound_fox

Member since 2005 • 98532 Posts

Does that mean you like it?cowboymonkey21

Most definitely. Aside from some high-brow literature, it is easily my favourite novel.

17 years ago

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#5 cowboymonkey21

Member since 2007 • 5297 Posts

[QUOTE="cowboymonkey21"]Does that mean you like it?foxhound_fox

Most definitely. Aside from some high-brow literature, it is easily my favourite novel.

So do you think I should read it?

17 years ago

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#6 foxhound_fox

Member since 2005 • 98532 Posts

So do you think I should read it?cowboymonkey21

Indeed. I think everyone who enjoys fiction should read it. You may or may not find it entertaining but you have to hand it to Danielewski for crafting something that no one else has done so far.

17 years ago

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Member since 2008 • 4522 Posts

I like it.

17 years ago

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#8 foxhound_fox

Member since 2005 • 98532 Posts

Here is a quote from the back of the novel that I find sums up it perfectly:

"A rollicking Pynchonesque oddity, a Nabokovian linguistic obsession, and a Borgesian unreality. [House of Leaves] jumps and skips and plays with genre-wrecking abandon, postmodern panache, and an obsessively imaginative scope that absolutely shames most books on the market today." ~ San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle

17 years ago

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#9 cowboymonkey21

Member since 2007 • 5297 Posts

Here is a quote from the back of the novel that I find sums up it perfectly:

"A rollicking Pynchonesque oddity, a Nabokovian linguistic obsession, and a Borgesian unreality. [House of Leaves] jumps and skips and plays with genre-wrecking abandon, postmodern panache, and an obsessively imaginative scope that absolutely shames most books on the market today." ~ San Francisco Examiner and Chroniclefoxhound_fox

Cool. Why do you write House in purple?

17 years ago

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#10 foxhound_fox

Member since 2005 • 98532 Posts

Cool. Why do you write House in purple?cowboymonkey21

It is something Danielewski does in the novel. I only wish to pass on its effect when discussing it.

17 years ago

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#11 Scarface_tm431

Member since 2004 • 10063 Posts

What makes it so good, or is it one of those things people say is good just because it's different from everything else?

17 years ago

AtomicBaconBits

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#12 AtomicBaconBits

Member since 2006 • 8855 Posts

[QUOTE="cowboymonkey21"]So do you think I should read it?foxhound_fox

Indeed. I think everyone who enjoys fiction should read it. You may or may not find it entertaining but you have to hand it to Danielewski for crafting something that no one else has done so far.

Interesting.What's the synopsis?

17 years ago

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#13 Putzwapputzen

Member since 2005 • 4462 Posts

[QUOTE="cowboymonkey21"]Does that mean you like it?foxhound_fox

Most definitely. Aside from some high-brow literature, it is easily my favourite novel.

so its a book huh? hmmmm, i have to check this out then, i hope its on sparknotes :)

17 years ago

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Member since 2004 • 18919 Posts

[QUOTE="cowboymonkey21"]Cool. Why do you write House in purple?foxhound_fox

It is something Danielewski does in the novel. I only wish to pass on its effect when discussing it.

It is really annoying

17 years ago

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#15 foxhound_fox

Member since 2005 • 98532 Posts

Interesting.What's the synopsis?AtomicBaconBits

*sigh*

Now there is a challenge.

The novel follows a character named Johnny Truant, who is in his mid twenties and likes to "party" (drugs and women mostly). As he is searching out a new apartment, his friend and "partner in crime" (if I may be so cliched) Lude points him towards the one in his building which recently came onto the market.

The apartment belonged to a man who recently died, Zampano, a blind man who spent most of his life alone, consumed with his cats and his work... a scholarly analysis of the filmThe Navidson Record. He has spent a considerable amount of his time putting together this book and has it all stuffed away, quite loosely and haphazardly in a large, black trunk which Truant takes possession of because no one else wanted it.

When Zampano's body was discovered, there were long slices cut into the flooring beside his corpse, completely unexplainable and left unnoticed by the police. As Johnny later opens the trunk and starts reading some of the material contained within, he cannot help but become himself consumed with putting Zampano's work together and make it publishable.

Now of course, this would seem to be just a normal novel from the introduction, which I just explained... but once you start reading it, it takes an entirely different turn... one that you really don't see coming at all.

The Navidson Record, a film made by a Pulitzer-prize winning photojournalist, Will Navidson, was at first his attempt to capture the life of his family finally coming together in a house in Virginia. They soon find out that their lives are going to be far from anything that could be considered "normal."

In a short "teaser" film entitled "The Five and a Half Minute Hallway" Navidson films a new anomaly that has suddenly and unexplainably appeared in his house. A door, like any normal closet door, appears in his living room on the outside wall of his house. In a single, uninterrupted cut, he walks from the doorway, out a window and around to the back of the house, showing nothing but a normal backyard complete with bushes and clapboard siding. After making his way back to the doorway after fully circling it, he opens the door and reveals not a closet like one would expect but a 10 foot hallway.

A hallway that should not exist. A hallway that is completely devoid of light and is made up entirely of an ashen-black material. "Darkness" personified. After sticking his hand over the threshold and revealing to the viewer that it is "freezing" the short film ends.

Zampano's work is written like any textbook would be, with copious amounts of footnotes and proper referencing. As Johnny attempts to bring it together, he starts becoming consumed by it. It starts to affect his life. He starts feeling a "presence" behind him. One that is "just waiting." Just waiting for the right opportunity to strike. The further he digs into Zampano's work the worse things get. He starts being unable to remember his dreams, he starts waking up completely soaked in sweat and later finds out he is screaming in his sleep.

Just writing a synopsis is difficult, considering how Danielewski put together the novel. It makes fun of itself while telling an incredibly immersive story. One that can affect how you perceive both fictional writing and even the world itself. I tried as best I could to both explain what the story was about without spoiling anything as well as trying to capture the level of anxiety that parts of the book are capable of inducing on the reader.

17 years ago

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#16 cowboymonkey21

Member since 2007 • 5297 Posts

[QUOTE="AtomicBaconBits"]Interesting.What's the synopsis?foxhound_fox

*sigh*

Now there is a challenge.

The novel follows a character named Johnny Truant, who is in his mid twenties and likes to "party" (drugs and women mostly). As he is searching out a new apartment, his friend and "partner in crime" (if I may be so cliched) Lude points him towards the one in his building which recently came onto the market.

The apartment belonged to a man who recently died, Zampano, a blind man who spent most of his life alone, consumed with his cats and his work... a scholarly analysis of the filmThe Navidson Record. He has spent a considerable amount of his time putting together this book and has it all stuffed away, quite loosely and haphazardly in a large, black trunk which Truant takes possession of because no one else wanted it.

When Zampano's body was discovered, there were long slices cut into the flooring beside his corpse, completely unexplainable and left unnoticed by the police. As Johnny later opens the trunk and starts reading some of the material contained within, he cannot help but become himself consumed with putting Zampano's work together and make it publishable.

Now of course, this would seem to be just a normal novel from the introduction, which I just explained... but once you start reading it, it takes an entirely different turn... one that you really don't see coming at all.

The Navidson Record, a film made by a Pulitzer-prize winning photojournalist, Will Navidson, was at first his attempt to capture the life of his family finally coming together in a house in Virginia. They soon find out that their lives are going to be far from anything that could be considered "normal."

In a short "teaser" film entitled "The Five and a Half Minute Hallway" Navidson films a new anomaly that has suddenly and unexplainably appeared in his house. A door, like any normal closet door, appears in his living room on the outside wall of his house. In a single, uninterrupted cut, he walks from the doorway, out a window and around to the back of the house, showing nothing but a normal backyard complete with bushes and clapboard siding. After making his way back to the doorway after fully circling it, he opens the door and reveals not a closet like one would expect but a 10 foot hallway.

A hallway that should not exist. A hallway that is completely devoid of light and is made up entirely of an ashen-black material. "Darkness" personified. After sticking his hand over the threshold and revealing to the viewer that it is "freezing" the short film ends.

Zampano's work is written like any textbook would be, with copious amounts of footnotes and proper referencing. As Johnny attempts to bring it together, he starts becoming consumed by it. It starts to affect his life. He starts feeling a "presence" behind him. One that is "just waiting." Just waiting for the right opportunity to strike. The further he digs into Zampano's work the worse things get. He starts being unable to remember his dreams, he starts waking up completely soaked in sweat and later finds out he is screaming in his sleep.

Just writing a synopsis is difficult, considering how Danielewski put together the novel. It makes fun of itself while telling an incredibly immersive story. One that can affect how you perceive both fictional writing and even the world itself. I tried as best I could to both explain what the story was about without spoiling anything as well as trying to capture the level of anxiety that parts of the book are capable of inducing on the reader.

Whoa that sounds so cool, I'm going to pick up that book sometime soon.

17 years ago

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#17 Scarface_tm431

Member since 2004 • 10063 Posts

Oh that sounds freaky, I imagine reading it you eventually start getting a weird feeling like Johnny...thanks for that btw fox

17 years ago

AtomicBaconBits

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#18 AtomicBaconBits

Member since 2006 • 8855 Posts

[QUOTE="foxhound_fox"][QUOTE="cowboymonkey21"]Does that mean you like it?Putzwapputzen

Most definitely. Aside from some high-brow literature, it is easily my favourite novel.

so its a book huh? hmmmm, i have to check this out then, i hope its on sparknotes :)

Um,why not read the actual book...? :|

17 years ago

AtomicBaconBits

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#19 AtomicBaconBits

Member since 2006 • 8855 Posts

[QUOTE="AtomicBaconBits"]Interesting.What's the synopsis?foxhound_fox

*sigh*

Now there is a challenge.

The novel follows a character named Johnny Truant, who is in his mid twenties and likes to "party" (drugs and women mostly). As he is searching out a new apartment, his friend and "partner in crime" (if I may be so cliched) Lude points him towards the one in his building which recently came onto the market.

The apartment belonged to a man who recently died, Zampano, a blind man who spent most of his life alone, consumed with his cats and his work... a scholarly analysis of the filmThe Navidson Record. He has spent a considerable amount of his time putting together this book and has it all stuffed away, quite loosely and haphazardly in a large, black trunk which Truant takes possession of because no one else wanted it.

When Zampano's body was discovered, there were long slices cut into the flooring beside his corpse, completely unexplainable and left unnoticed by the police. As Johnny later opens the trunk and starts reading some of the material contained within, he cannot help but become himself consumed with putting Zampano's work together and make it publishable.

Now of course, this would seem to be just a normal novel from the introduction, which I just explained... but once you start reading it, it takes an entirely different turn... one that you really don't see coming at all.

The Navidson Record, a film made by a Pulitzer-prize winning photojournalist, Will Navidson, was at first his attempt to capture the life of his family finally coming together in a house in Virginia. They soon find out that their lives are going to be far from anything that could be considered "normal."

In a short "teaser" film entitled "The Five and a Half Minute Hallway" Navidson films a new anomaly that has suddenly and unexplainably appeared in his house. A door, like any normal closet door, appears in his living room on the outside wall of his house. In a single, uninterrupted cut, he walks from the doorway, out a window and around to the back of the house, showing nothing but a normal backyard complete with bushes and clapboard siding. After making his way back to the doorway after fully circling it, he opens the door and reveals not a closet like one would expect but a 10 foot hallway.

A hallway that should not exist. A hallway that is completely devoid of light and is made up entirely of an ashen-black material. "Darkness" personified. After sticking his hand over the threshold and revealing to the viewer that it is "freezing" the short film ends.

Zampano's work is written like any textbook would be, with copious amounts of footnotes and proper referencing. As Johnny attempts to bring it together, he starts becoming consumed by it. It starts to affect his life. He starts feeling a "presence" behind him. One that is "just waiting." Just waiting for the right opportunity to strike. The further he digs into Zampano's work the worse things get. He starts being unable to remember his dreams, he starts waking up completely soaked in sweat and later finds out he is screaming in his sleep.

Just writing a synopsis is difficult, considering how Danielewski put together the novel. It makes fun of itself while telling an incredibly immersive story. One that can affect how you perceive both fictional writing and even the world itself. I tried as best I could to both explain what the story was about without spoiling anything as well as trying to capture the level of anxiety that parts of the book are capable of inducing on the reader.

Wow,now I'm completley interested.I love that type of stuff.Imma have to check it out after I'm finished with the current book I'm reading.

17 years ago

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#20 foxhound_fox

Member since 2005 • 98532 Posts

Oh that sounds freaky, I imagine reading it you eventually start getting a weird feeling like Johnny...thanks for that btw foxScarface_tm431

Oh my yes. Oh... my... yes...

Near the beginning of the book he attempts to help the reader visualize this "presence" that he feels. When I read it, I just passed it off, not being fully aware of what the novel was actually capable of doing. Once I began getting further and further into it, I started to develop a literal fear of the dark. At one point earlier this week, I was unable to enter into or be in a dark room without becoming filled with high levels of anxiety and what I could only describe as "dread" of something lurking around in the places where I couldn't see.

Upon completion of the novel I was fortunately relieved of this debilitation but was left always pondering what could be hiding within the shadows. That and if I ever come across what Navidson comes across, I know I'll be selling the house and leaving as quickly as I came. There would be no amount of cojones in the world that would give me the desire to explore those ashen-black corridors.

17 years ago

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#21 Buffalo_Soulja

Member since 2004 • 13151 Posts

I don't know if it was intended this way, but I thought it was hilarious. It uses incredibly annoying uses of literary devices to essentially torture the reader much like the protagonist. I also thought it was good bait for the people who are quick to judge instances of pseudo-intellectualism.

17 years ago

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Member since 2007 • 5733 Posts

Hmm sounds interesting *writes down title in the upcoming novel document*

17 years ago

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Member since 2005 • 13919 Posts

Sounds interesting, I'll have to check it out.

17 years ago

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Member since 2007 • 3328 Posts

Oh, I loved House of Leaves! I keep meaning to read it again - some of the stuff in there was a little above me when I read it. I don't think it needs a description - not that a description would really do it justice. Unlike anything I have ever read before or since. You should definitely read it.

NB. If you are self-conscious about doing unusual things (things like holding your book sideways, upside down or turning it slowly in a circle while reading), do not read in public view. I got some real funny looks.

17 years ago

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