rainyreadss's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Alcohol, Violence, and Drug use
Minor: Rape
matomies's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Drug use and Vomit
unfinishedduet'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
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
mimbomombo's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
I won't lie, this book tried my patience sometimes, Zampano waffles on and on about physics and various academic subjects and Johnny interrupts several times with the latest entry in how he's slept with every female he talks to for an hour or not using a full stop for a page and a half. That being said though, the fact that it is "Zampano and Jonny" writing the book and not Mark the actual author, I don't care as much and I'm not as offended. It all builds on understanding the characters more.
The book basically reads as an academic work with references and footnotes abound, as well as several ruminations on every part of the movie the book-within-a-book is about. It wasn't my favourite style of writing and the academic style was sometimes above my abilities, as well as the subjects it covered weren't that interesting to me at times. Sometimes I'd just skip a book paragraphs if I detected a huge waffle about something I didn't care to hear 3 different bodies opinions on.
Despite all that, I did enjoy the book enough to read it quite fast. the House story was fun, I'm glad it didn't have a concrete explanation but I do wish there was more craziness to it than I got, the biggest revelation was a window. I enjoyed following the family members and the story unraveling as I went. The knocking at the door was pretty damn crazy moment.
Jonny's story was interesting to see his deterioration and the glimpses of what it looked like from the outside. As I write this I feel like the story wasn't too satisfying, but there's clearly a deeper story to be found. I was very curious about how both these stories would end up.
That's what I'll say in general about the book, I expected it to be confusing and convoluted and it was, but still more engaging than the confusing and convoluted movies I've seen. I'm not too interested in finding out all the meaning of the stories, it's not really my taste of media to leave so much out, but I'll have a look. Just like the movies I've seen like this, it probably won't sway my opinion about the book. Though, I will admit, it does give you a lot to think about afterwards. I probably should have read it slower.
See:
- What is
the minotaur? what does the slashing, does it exist, does it relate to Zampano's story about the father of the minotaur loving the minotaur but having to hide it away (and how does that story relate to Jonny's vision of being lost on a ship) - Jonny and boats
- House of Leaves appearing in the book as a book two times
- Jonny writing the introduction of finding Zampano after already being insane for months and months
- How did Zampano write a book about a movie he hasn't seen?
- What did the house want? Is it God? Was it all psychologically influenced? Did it come from colonial America? It actually got Karen to rescue Will in the end, but killed others like Tom who had seemingly done no wrong.
- Contrary evidence, did the actually book exist? How the does that make any sense?
- What Jonny mean by "This is not for you"?
- etc.
Also, the strange formatting of the text in the book was entertaining, but a bit gimmicky.
OH and JESUS the sex did not need to get that explicit, I preferred it when Jonny just wrote poetry for an entire page. Glad I'm not alone on that front.
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
Minor: Sexual violence and Rape
izzydelaya's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Moderate: Child death, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Addiction, Bullying, Animal death, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Sexism, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder
abandonedmegastructure'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
4.5
A suspenseful tale of exploration into the unknown is enhanced with layers of symbolism, discussion, meta-discussion, and mythological allusions. The result is an enthralling novel, fundamentally mysterious yet deeply compelling, which invites its reader to join in the analytical discussions that take center stage from time to time. The book plays with page structure, footnotes, the fourth wall, text markup, and anything else you could imagine. It goes beyond having an unreliable narrator and straight-up invites us to question the narrator's existence; just another part of the fun it's having exploring the concept of writing (not writing - chronicling? depicting? recording? knowing?) itself. It touches on themes of cosmic horror, religion, mental illness, and the human subconscious, though if I had to pin down a single theme I'd say this is a book about absences first and foremost.
I realize I might be making this book sound like a pretentious tome that's more concerned with being clever than being readable. And to be fair, there are some pseudo-academic bits that go on for too long, and they're the reason I'm not giving this a 5/5. But the various narratives interwoven through the book are insanely well-written and evocative (not to mention disturbing), the main characters slowly reveal more of their fascinating yet flawed selves, and the references and metatextual elements add to their stories, rather than distracting from them. Even when viewed purely as a story, House of Leaves holds up extremely well; everything else is just a bonus.
A final thought: I've seen a lot of people call this a horror novel, and I get where they're coming from, but I found the text intriguing more than scary even at the most uncanny points. If you've been put off by the horror label, and would otherwise have considered reading the book, I encourage you to try it out anyway.
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Child abuse, Sexual content, Alcohol, Blood, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Child death, Sexual violence, Body horror, Rape, Infidelity, Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Suicide
venusmage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
Less “overt” horror and more conceptual, based on metaphors. If reality-breaking narratives wig you out then maybe skip it, otherwise I’d highly recommend. I hate to say it’s an “you get it, or you don’t” sort of book, but I believe that is indeed the case. It’s a modern classic for a reason.
Graphic: Suicide, Sexual content, and Animal death
Moderate: Alcohol, Violence, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual assault
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Pedophilia
at806's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, War, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Vomit
mobymaize's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.75
Spoiler
very explicit scene where a main character gets a finger up his butt and cums from itGraphic: Blood, Confinement, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Mental illness, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Violence, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Abandonment, and Vomit
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Lesbophobia
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
4.75
Graphic: Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Gaslighting, Death, Confinement, Physical abuse, Murder, and Sexual content
Moderate: Incest, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Drug use, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Abandonment, Blood, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Gun violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Body horror, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Excrement, Vomit, Bullying, Terminal illness, and Cancer