Be the Change

House of Leaves

It took me about 3 months, but I finally finished reading House of Leaves. Have any of you read it?

ASIN: 0375703764	House of Leaves: The Remastered Full-Color Edition Product Type: Book
	Amazon's Price: Price N/A Buy Now!

I'm very curious about what others think about the book. I've never read anything like it before, and I quite enjoyed it. Sure, it dragged and it was confusing and disorienting, but I think it did what it set out to do. To me, it was a very successful novel.

Then I read the reviews on Amazon. Apparently a lot of people hated it, thought it was pretentious, derivative, boring and a total failure. One person even wrote, "There's nothing wrong with this book that couldn't have been fixed by having Steven King rewrite it as a short story."



The thing is, it actually frightened me once or twice. I tend to read before I go to bed at night, and this novel would wake me up. I'm not saying it's the best thing ever written, and it's certainly not the easiest read...

As someone who was semi-involved in the "academic" world (i.e., having a college education), I could certainly appreciate Danielewski's poking fun at the world of footnotes and references to scholarly works and classic literature. If you're looking for an engaging, fast-paced mainstream read, this is not it. And I think that's why it got such a negative reaction. People are so used to mainstream thrillers that don't require any real thought or participation on the part of the reader. This novel made me think, and I liked that.

I like what this reviewer says:

As long as you're prepared, though, I'd give this book a chance. Be forewarned: It's not just about a house. It's really a story about a young man reading the manuscript of an old man which is an academic criticism and investigation of a fictional documentary which another man made about his messed-up house.

In previous years, I've tried to read as many novels as I could in one year, trying to best my previous year. 2010, however, will be one of quality over quantity, I think. I'm going to read outside my normal realm, including novels that are disorienting. Up next, Blindness by Jose Saramago.

I've read the first two pages, and it's going to be difficult for me, with the comma splices and no quotation marks for dialogue. That much I know already. But in the end, I'll probably enjoy it.