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thesuperawesomesarah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Cursing, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Medical content, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury
hedsek's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Car accident
nerdkitten's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Minor: Ableism, Fatphobia, Genocide, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Vomit, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War
haileyhardcover's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
lietotheangels's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
hazelbynature's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Terminal illness, Excrement, and Vomit
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Vomit, Car accident, and War
tristemono's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
booitsnathalie's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I didn't know much about House of Leaves beyond it's infamous typography, so it was surprising to learn it's functionally a book equivalent to found footage horror. It trades documentary "authenticity" for dense citations and pervert French, but conceptually I find a lot of similarities (both are primarily interested in the mechanics of their medium and how our trust in those forms can be exploited). How successful HoL is depends mostly on your willingness to indulge its most excessive elements, following footnotes to smaller footnotes and spinning the book around like it's the world thickest centerfold.
HoL slots into a weird segment of media that I conceptually appreciate but dread existing because it inevitably gets attached to the worst sort of gross art bro. It is a playful, surprisingly warm, darkly funny book, but also one that revels in masculine violence and the deification of male ambition. It is proud of its swamp, fascinated by the algae and mutated fish, but if you want to study the tadpoles you're forced to wade past crocodiles and a CW list longer than the terms you didn't read.
My metaphors are mixing and my mind is wandering, but this is all to say HoL is a challenging recommendation in 2022. A rewarding one if you can stomach the grime, but I wouldn't shame anyone for keeping it on the shelf a while longer.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
Minor: Bullying and Child death
ggcd1981's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape and Excrement