I have had this book in my “to be read” pile ever since it was published in 2000. I even tried to read it a couple of times and just couldn’t get into it. The book eventually got buried in a crate of books and put into storage somewhere in the back of the closet. Then one day, out of the blue, someone asked if I had ever heard of the book. I told them that I had a copy somewhere in my closet but it could take me a while to find it. In truth I wasn’t expecting to since I hadn’t seen the thing in a number of years and it was possible that I had given it away. Well, it took me all of thirty seconds to locate the crate and the book was just sitting right on top. Almost like it was waiting for me.
House of Leaves is a tough book to describe as any information given would be a spoiler. The premise is a bit Blair Witch-like. The story is supposed to be based on actual events that take place in a house with some very interesting architectural details. If you randomly flip through the book you will notice that some pages are printed upside down or sideways. While others may only contain a few words. There are also loads of footnotes to follow and sometimes footnotes for the footnotes. All of these details are meant to mimic what is happening to the characters. The writing style is rather clever and makes the book fun to read. I am not quite sure why this book is filed under horror as there isn’t anything horrifying about it. In fact, the book has quite a cult following on the Internet and a lot of information can be found online.
Suffice it to say, that I completely enjoyed House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski and I am very glad that it waited for me.
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