Guest RobJohnstone Report post Posted December 23, 2002 My friend was telling me he heard about this book "House of Leaves", and that it was cooll. I read some reviews of it online and it seems as though there is a mini cult following of the book. Should I waste my time? --Rob Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest red_file Report post Posted December 23, 2002 I suppose it depends on what you want out of a book. House of Leaves is an interesting post-modernist exercise, but I'm not so sure if it's anything beyond that. Plot and character are kinda sacrificed for what the author does with form, so it's the type of book where you're amazed at what he's doing instead of how he's doing it or why. Of course, the cult would say that I didn't "get it," and they'd probably be right. It's worth a read. Library, perhaps. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest J*ingus Report post Posted December 23, 2002 Libraries generally don't carry a book like House of Leaves, at least mine doesn't. But that book is one of the damndest things I've ever read, and no I don't think the characterizations were sacrificed in favor of the gimmick (which is admittedly brilliant). The house itself is one of the strangest, scariest, most convincing portrayals of the Other that I've ever come across, something that is definitely not from here and doesn't play by the same rules that we do. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Incandenza Report post Posted December 23, 2002 I picked it up a couple of years ago, but I got distracted and never finished it. What I read was pretty interesting, like if David Foster Wallace wrote a horror novel. And Jingus, you just had to type "house" in blue font, huh? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest red_file Report post Posted December 24, 2002 Libraries generally don't carry a book like House of Leaves, at least mine doesn't. Inter-library loan. If you're willing to wait for it, there are very few books that your library won't be able to obtain. And, c'mon, if Wallace ever wrote a horror novel, it'd at least be funny. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Incandenza Report post Posted December 24, 2002 I meant Wallace in style, if not in spirit. Or do I mean spirit, and not style? I dunno. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vyce Report post Posted December 24, 2002 Libraries generally don't carry a book like House of Leaves, at least mine doesn't. But that book is one of the damndest things I've ever read, and no I don't think the characterizations were sacrificed in favor of the gimmick (which is admittedly brilliant). The house itself is one of the strangest, scariest, most convincing portrayals of the Other that I've ever come across, something that is definitely not from here and doesn't play by the same rules that we do. I read the book quite some time ago, and like Jingus, I enjoyed it quite a bit. I'd say it's at least worth reading, if not outright buying. I can see why there's a cult-following. The format is very unique. The house itself is terrifying (it's a tesseract), and the story itself has been described (by me) as the literary equivalent of the Blair Witch Project (when you read it, you'll understand what I mean by that). All of that, plus the author's sister (the singer Poe) is pretty fucking hot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest RobJohnstone Report post Posted December 24, 2002 cool, thanks for the info. I'll probably just buy it. It's only $20 --Rob Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
