Reviews with content warning for Schizophrenia/Psychosis - House of Leaves

i really respect the author's choice in formatting the book the way he did. it's a really unique way to create atmosphere in text format, and to have the readers feel more immersed and be able to relate to the characters and their feelings of confusion, frustration, unease, and of feeling lost and like they're going crazy/losing their sense of reality. i feel like there is so much to this book and so many theories and themes that can be pulled from it. i didn't feel satisfied by the ending and i was still left with so many questions and my own theories rattling around in my head, and i feel that that was all intentional, including the fact that all of this still frustrates and confuses me even after finishing the book. maybe i'm giving the author too much credit, or maybe i'm not giving him enough? i don't know! this was such an interesting, wild, and unique experience that i really had and have a love/hate relationship for.

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astareads's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Not bad, not great. I probably didn't understand half of it, whereas the other half was either thrilling or boring.

I went through every footnote and reference that was actually inside the book, and that too was a mixed bag. Sometimes it was interesting, sometimes it just kept referring back to itself which got frustrating.

I think I would've enjoyed the story of The Navidson Record on its own, as Johnny Truant's bits were just incomprehensible most of the time and not really much of interest until towards the end when

he finally let go of the drugs and sex.

On the good side I was reminded of Susanne Clarke's Piranesi, which is one of my favourites and has a similar labyrinthine feel to it, although a lot more literally than this!

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gondorgirl's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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raebeiss's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

where do i even begin. a book that took me 6 months to read and is also amazing. please go read this one?

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greevianguy's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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bokslukaren's review

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challenging dark tense slow-paced

3.0

You know what they say; one man's unpublished essay is another's hookup journal and spiral into insanity!

Get your notepad (physical or digital) ready, and while you're at it you might as well grab a mirror, because this book requires you to twist and turn with careful and thorough attentiveness to have a chance at being deciphered and comprehended! House of Leaves is an analytical and detailed essay (including footnotes) about a documentary, as well as reactions to said essay. With foreshadowing, insanity, mental illness and riddles hounding every corner of every page and swirling around in the reader's head, notes offer a necessary stability. This book is intensely unsettling and somehow still managed to keep my attention despite the 700 hundred page essay-style confusion.

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thesuperawesomesarah's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

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rozex's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This book is a mind fuck and a half. It's a feeling of discovering it with one of the characters, while being there while it's edited. It's questioning what has or hasn't been influenced by what characters. It's the feeling of *everything* (including you, somehow) influencing the book.
It's a bit of a slow start, and can feel like you're reading an essay instead of a book. Yet every time it gets tedious (or even exciting), Johnny Truant interjects with his (quite frankly disturbing) tales, leaving you questioning what is real or fake or both. The story that Zampano is fascinating and thought provoking, sometimes leaving you praying for the characters or what they represent.
If you are interested in a challenging read, then prepare to be challenged.
It has a bit of triggering content at times, so be warned.
Not suitable for people under 18, I think.

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