A Review of House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

I’m new to horror novels. It is a genre that I have really only ventured into within the past couple of years. Most of what I have read has been on the tamer side.

Well, unlike the journey I went on with House of Leaves (Pantheon Books, 2000) by Mark Z. Danielewski at least.

For anyone who hasn’t read the book, no worries, I’m not going to spoil anything.

This book messed with my mind. According to other reviewers who have read it, it is supposed to do that. It is quite the journey.

Danielewski weaves together three-story lines within the book, making it so there is seemingly no end to what could possibly be going on within the house. One moment you think that could be getting some answers, and the next moment we are thrown a complete curveball.

First off, we have the story of the Navidson family, who move into this house to start anew. Weird events start happening with the house, most of which are spoilers, that turn the family’s life completely upside down. Within this storyline, which is almost written like a found-footage film, Danielewski does not hold back on the horror of what is happening. He gets into the nitty gritty details. I found myself with almost a feeling of head spinning.

House of Leaves also has footnotes and appendices included within the storyline, which is an unconventional feature for a novel. Not only do they add to the suspense and atmosphere of what might be going on, but they have smaller storylines going on within them as well.

The second of the three storylines is one told by Zampano, a blind man who uncovers the Navidson family’s story. Zampano goes on to make his own assumptions on what may be going on, as well as providing us with outside sources that talk about topics such as mythology and even biblical references. All of which are used almost as examples of what is happening to the house. I found these footnotes to be very compelling and help keep me interested in the story.

The third and final storyline is by this guy named Johnny, who is basically just talking about his life in his footnotes. For most of the book, probably until the 95% mark, I had no idea why they were included. Again, it’s just pages and pages of Johnny talking about his life. I found them very boring and hard to get through. I truly didn’t understand them.

But, when I got to the end of the book, my jaw was on the floor. Danielewski wrapped all the storylines up in a way that Johnny’s story finally made sense. I was shocked to say the least. I truly wasn’t expecting that ending. If you are having a hard time getting through those footnotes. I promise it will all make sense in the end.

And with that said, the ending firmly cemented my love of this book. I can now call House of Leaves one of my favorite books of all time. It is filled with psychological twists and turns. It may leave you with more questions than answers, but if you’re a fan of psychological horror and found footage films, I think you need to give it a try.

I promise it is all worth it in the end.