Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

94 reviews

becandbooks's review

I still have a great curiosity for this book and may revisit it again, at a different time. But overall the book is much more dense and within its own world than I anticipated. It is a book that asks for a level of mental capacity and commitment, which I just don't have available at the moment.

From what I read, however, it is easy to understand how some readers become so invested in the story, but also how others struggle to find a story that is for them.

This is perfect for anyone who is chasing something like The Black Tapes podcast.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Murder, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Drug use, Alcoholism, Vomit, Alcohol, and Gun violence

→ trigger warnings: drug and alcohol use, alcoholism recounted, graphic body horror, murder mentioned (specifically of a sex worker), blood depiction recounted, graphic animal death/cruelty (decapitation) mentioned, gun violence, emesis,

minzzi's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.0

  This is the first book I have ever read that really scared me. 
  I loved the Navidson Records, characters, the narrative and the way it was written and formatted. Truly genius. No complaints.
   However, the parts about Johnny kinda irritated me, specially in the middle section of the book. All Johnny's storys about his childhood, or the story about the dead dog were great, fitted the theme of the book perfectly, but just how convenient is it that every person who knows something about Zampanò is an attractive young woman who wants to have sex with him?
   I was having a great time learning about the terrifying maze in Navidson's house and Johnny would cut in with a random story about how he fucked a woman. It got boring quick.
   Taking that out, as I said before, everything else was amazing.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide

rainyreadss's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

3.75

part academic retelling of a maybe real, maybe fictional film and part epistolary reckoning and wrecking of an extremely late to the party witness. an unusual and unnerving reading experience. silence leaks through every crack. darkness darker than any dark you’ve ever known leaks into every moment. over 600 pages of disaster, heartache, urgency, and ruin. this book definitely isn’t for everyone but it’s worth at least skimming through to see all the different ways form breaks down and rebuilds throughout the narrative. a truly original experience

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Violence, and Drug use

Minor: Rape

bites_of_books's review

challenging dark informative mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

The amount of effort and work that went into House of Leaves is something that I can really appreciate. There were certain sections where the creepiness of the darkness inside the house was truly palpable but anytime that I was close to diving deep into that horror, the academic style of writing took me away from it. At times I was also really interested in the academic discussions regarding subjects ranging from physics to history and linguistics, but it was truly difficult to call it an enjoyable experience. 
There are many interpretations about this book, ranging from who is narrating, the true meaning of the house, and even the timeline of events. 
I don't think I can recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun book to read, but if you're into deep dives into linguistics, philosophy, poetry, physics, with two side stories that tell the stories of deeply troubled characters. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Suicide, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Blood, Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Sexual violence, Rape, Chronic illness, Confinement, and Death

di_the_reader's review against another edition

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol, and Drug abuse

matomies's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Drug use and Vomit

unfinishedduet's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Animal death, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Blood, Alcohol, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Murder

Moderate: Medical content, Child abuse, Addiction, Infidelity, Rape, Vomit, Physical abuse, Car accident, and Gore

transdankovsky's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Sexual content

Moderate: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Drug use, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, and Misogyny

quixie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Abandonment, Gun violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Bullying, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Suicide, Blood, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Death, Gore, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

cuppachaii's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

I don't even know what to say. This is my favourite book. It makes sense that it's becoming popular right now, since --despite coming out twenty years ago-- it blends all the current horror trends of lost media, liminal horror, analogue horror, and coded-lore-horror. I cannot recommend this enough for someone who wants to read a really difficult book and flip wildly between footnotes, indexes, and appendices to reveal some of the most subtle, creeping horror I've read. This is the only horror novel that's gotten me so scared it stopped me in my tracks, and it did it several times. The way it accomplishes this is by getting under your skin and slowly worming its way into your psyche so it can rearrange itself (ha) without you noticing. This book was good enough that my illiterate ass pushed through and read a paper copy (which you must do). 

If you like books that get you obsessed, scouring forums, and uncovering secrets: read this. I cannot suggest it highly enough. It's impossible to describe the plot in less than a paragraph, which is the point. This is the kind of book you want to discuss with other fans as you make a spiderweb of twine on a corkboard. If you like subtle horror and interesting writing, read this. Do not miss this book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Forced institutionalization