i was just wondering if any of you had read the house of leaves, by Mark Z. Danielewski. i have to say it has completly changed my life. i now see things totally differently, in a strange sort of deluded way. it has also made me hang tape measures on my wall. anoyne else have this problem? also if anyones read it, what do they think the labirynth idea stands for? i think it is the complexity of the human brain. porce, im sure you have an opinion on this.

for those of you who havent discovered this amazing literature yet, it is about a family whose house opens a door up to them. upon sending a team of trained explorers, they discover it is infinite in size, always moving walls. if something is left behind to mark the way, things mysteriously dissapear. i will go into more detail about the outcome if anyone wants me to. it really does play with your head. it is narrated by a man who goes insane, written by a character who dies in house windows borded up, no doors, and no electricity. also the book contains notes by the narrators insane mother and the editors. truly intruiging

any thoughts?
xXx

I think this book has been braught up a couple times.

I agree it was a great book. And well worth a read. It did make me see a couple of things different, well atleast it makes me take a closer look at my walls every now and again.

What is this "House of Leaves" about? And what sort of things does it change your views on? Does it tell you what to think?

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.
its all very bizzare. i cant begin to explain why i feel so wierd about it.
basicly its about how Zampanò's text (and life) is encapsulated within the writings of Johnny Truant, a literate, down-on-his-luck drifter who stumbles across Zampanò's unpublished manuscript shortly after the old man's death. Truant takes it upon himself to finalize Zampanò's manuscript for publication. As he does, he adds his own footnotes to the mix, developing the same obsession with Navidson's house that likely killed Zampanò.
erm the navidsons house has a corridor into a dark place, with ever shifting walls. the family break up due to its mystery. the narrator, Truant, goes insane too while trying to piece together the old mans notes. Despite Truant discover Zampanos story to be fictional, it still kills Zampano, and drives Truant insane. strange to the the least. the story is full of sub plots, and metaphorical language.
if yours as confuzzed as i am, www. houseofleaves.com may help a bit.

see? see?

damn you rachel for using better words than me!

*stabs air in the manner of a random madwoman*

*sulks*

*checks her tape measures*

I eventually got around to reading this after seeing a battered copy going cheap in a bookshop. It's really a very interesting book. As a person writing academic material, it's presentation amused me as much as it occasionally infuriated me.

Who else has read this?

Not I. But I will if you recommend it.

You will, maybe. I just found it an exhausting, but very rewarding, read.

I didn't find it life-changing, but I did find it amusing the way it made your mind play with certain subjects so that, if you were prone to thinking that way, you could believe that the world around you was changing because of the book. The fact that it can do that, even a little, is a testament to what an intelligent piece of writing it is.