Martin
Active Member
I'm not the biggest fan of the Horror-genre. When I think about Horror, I tend to think in cliches, in stereotypes, i.e. Zombies, mummies, Freddy Krueger, blood 'n gore, big knives, and all. It's a bit narrowminded, I know, but I can't help it. However, when I happen to stumble upon a Horror-novel that defies all the aforementioned cliches, I will not hesitate to give it a chance. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski is such a novel.
The story has three main layers. The main story is about the so-called 'Navidson Record', which turns out to be a video account of an expedition into rooms and hallways which appear out of thin air. I'll explain. The Navidson family moves into a house, and the father, a prizewinning photographer, decides to videotape the entire transition into their new home. As they, one day, return home from a holiday, a new door has appeared, right smack in the middle of an otherwise completely normal wall. Behind this door there is a hallway, which is impossible, because that would make the house bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. But it's there nonetheless. Father Navidson decides to investigate. As the 'Navidson Record' continues, the hallway expands, shifts, moves, and even starts to make sounds, but Navidson keeps investigating, aided by a team of specialists. This is the first layer. The second and the third layer are a bit less elaborate, but absolutely not less relevant.
The 'Navidson Record' on its own isn't all that frightening; it's the descriptions of these events by the blind man Zampanò which are really terrifying. Zampanò is only alluded to, so we don't get to know much about this character. This is the second layer.
The final layer is the story of Johnny Truant, a literate, down-on-his-luck drifter who stumbles across Zampanò's unpublished manuscript shortly after the old man's death. He encapsulates Zampanò's text and life within his own writings, because, after he finds Zampanò's texts, he 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.
But the best is yet to come. What makes this novel so utterly unputdownable are the tricks (some might call it gimmicks, I don't) Danielewski uses to guide the reader through his multilayered meta-narratives. First of all, there are the footnotes (by Truant) and the editors' notes (by the editor to which Truant has sent the finished manuscript). Second is the layout, which gradually becomes more and more muddled and confusing, excellently portraying the state of mind of any one of the protagonists.
All in all, Danielewski has created something for everyone. There's Horror in there (the 'Navidson Record'), there's a well-crafted story of a wandering drifter, there's a lovestory and there's even a mother-son drama in it (all the Truant-story).
This is, without a doubt, the best Horror-novel I've ever read, and it's even one of the best novels I've ever had the pleasure of reading front to back within a few frightened days.
*** *** ***
So, what did you all think?
Cheers
The story has three main layers. The main story is about the so-called 'Navidson Record', which turns out to be a video account of an expedition into rooms and hallways which appear out of thin air. I'll explain. The Navidson family moves into a house, and the father, a prizewinning photographer, decides to videotape the entire transition into their new home. As they, one day, return home from a holiday, a new door has appeared, right smack in the middle of an otherwise completely normal wall. Behind this door there is a hallway, which is impossible, because that would make the house bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. But it's there nonetheless. Father Navidson decides to investigate. As the 'Navidson Record' continues, the hallway expands, shifts, moves, and even starts to make sounds, but Navidson keeps investigating, aided by a team of specialists. This is the first layer. The second and the third layer are a bit less elaborate, but absolutely not less relevant.
The 'Navidson Record' on its own isn't all that frightening; it's the descriptions of these events by the blind man Zampanò which are really terrifying. Zampanò is only alluded to, so we don't get to know much about this character. This is the second layer.
The final layer is the story of Johnny Truant, a literate, down-on-his-luck drifter who stumbles across Zampanò's unpublished manuscript shortly after the old man's death. He encapsulates Zampanò's text and life within his own writings, because, after he finds Zampanò's texts, he 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.
But the best is yet to come. What makes this novel so utterly unputdownable are the tricks (some might call it gimmicks, I don't) Danielewski uses to guide the reader through his multilayered meta-narratives. First of all, there are the footnotes (by Truant) and the editors' notes (by the editor to which Truant has sent the finished manuscript). Second is the layout, which gradually becomes more and more muddled and confusing, excellently portraying the state of mind of any one of the protagonists.
All in all, Danielewski has created something for everyone. There's Horror in there (the 'Navidson Record'), there's a well-crafted story of a wandering drifter, there's a lovestory and there's even a mother-son drama in it (all the Truant-story).
This is, without a doubt, the best Horror-novel I've ever read, and it's even one of the best novels I've ever had the pleasure of reading front to back within a few frightened days.
*** *** ***
So, what did you all think?
Cheers
Footnotes that go on for several pages, and go off in a different direction - then when you go back to reading the actual text, you have to recall what it was about. 
It's the kind of book that I thought I'd really like, but I guess I prefer something that is more "straightforward". 
