Unpacking a New Favourite Book: Matt Dives Deep into House of Leaves
Thoughts from Matt Adcock (X @cleric20, Bluesky @cleric20.bsky.social)
I have always loved book and have spent probably years of my life reading. Every now and then a book comes along that changes you, challenges how you think about things, stirs your soul and engages beyond the realm of normality.
House of Leaves (HOL)is such a book and I completely missed it when it came out. In fact I only read it after getting it recommended by my Hosts In The Shell podcast c0-host Jon.
How to even begin? Well, it is fair to say that few books in the last two decades have elicited the kind of reverence, confusion, and obsession as Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves.
Equal parts haunted house story, meta-fictional experiment, and a study in human relationships, the novel defies categorisation. Its labyrinthine structure mirrors the house at its core, drawing readers into its pages with the promise of discovery while challenging them to piece together its many layers. For those willing to step into its unsettling depths, House of Leaves offers an experience unlike any other. I have very rarely felt as engaged and energised as I was by this book. It sits alongside visceral and formative reading experiences such as The Wasp Factory & The Bridge by Iain Banks, Weaveworld by Clive Barker, The Kind In Yellow by Robert W. Chambers and Sepulchre by James Herbert to name but a few.
From its very presentation, House of Leaves announces itself as something different. The narrative unfolds through multiple layers, beginning with Johnny Truant’s discovery of the "Navidson Record" — a manuscript detailing a family’s experiences with a house that is larger on the inside than it is on the outside.
But this is not a straightforward story. The book’s text is fragmented, its typography playful and disorienting. Footnotes spiral into their own subplots, text flips upside down, and entire sections are presented in seemingly meaningless configurations. Yet every choice Danielewski makes feels deliberate, demanding readers interact with the book not just as a story but as a puzzle to be solved. I wish I’d read this before fighting with my publisher about the length of footnotes I wanted to include in my debut novel Complete Darkness – as I think showing just how much they expand the whole experience here would win the day!?
I’ve seen some say that the format of HOL is just a gimmick. It’s a testament to the book’s creativity. By manipulating the physical act of reading, Danielewski turns the novel into a reflection of its content. As the characters grapple with the impossibilities of the house, I found myself almost lost in a textual maze, mirroring their disorientation.
At its heart, House of Leaves is a story about a house that refuses to obey the laws of physics. Will Navidson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, moves into the house with his family, only to discover that its interior dimensions don’t align with its exterior. Hallways appear where none existed, and a mysterious, ever-expanding void opens up in the basement. The "Navidson Record" chronicles his attempts to explore this anomaly, capturing the psychological toll it takes on him and those around him.
But this is only one layer of the book. Framing the "Navidson Record" is Johnny Truant’s story, an unreliable narrator whose descent into madness is documented through erratic footnotes and tangential musings. As Johnny reads the manuscript, he’s consumed by paranoia and obsession, blurring the line between the house’s horrors and his own unravelling psyche. Johnny is a character kinda like a Bret Easton Ellis type – fun to hang out with but unstable!?
Then there are the academic commentaries, presenting analyses of the "Navidson Record" that range from insightful to absurd, adding yet another lens through which to interpret the narrative.
These layers create a recursive structure, where each element informs and complicates the others. The house becomes a metaphor for the book itself: an endless, unknowable space that shifts and changes depending on how you approach it.
While House of Leaves is undeniably a horror novel, its scares are less about jump scares and more about existential dread. The house’s shifting spaces evoke a primal fear of the unknown, a reminder of humanity’s smallness in the face of forces beyond comprehension. This fear seeps into the characters’ lives, exacerbating their insecurities and testing their relationships.
Will Navidson’s obsession with the house strains his relationship with his partner, Karen. Their journey becomes as much about navigating their emotional distance as it is about exploring the house’s physical voids. Similarly, Johnny Truant’s unravelling reveals his deep-seated loneliness and longing for connection. These personal struggles ground the book’s more abstract horrors, giving them emotional weight and resonance.
One of the most remarkable aspects of HOL is its ability to merge form and content so seamlessly. The book’s unconventional layout isn’t just a stylistic flourish; it’s integral to the story. The sprawling, fragmented text mirrors the house’s labyrinthine nature, and the act of navigating its pages becomes part of the experience. Danielewski’s creativity extends beyond the narrative to encompass the very structure of the book, challenging traditional notions of storytelling.
If you’ve never ventured in the House of Leaves, be aware that it is the gateway to a mass of speculation and countless interpretations and analyses. Is the house a metaphor for grief, trauma, or the creative process? Is Johnny’s story a reflection of Navidson’s, or vice versa? These questions have no definitive answers, and that’s precisely the point. House of Leaves thrives on ambiguity, inviting readers to bring their own perspectives and experiences to the text.
Since its publication in 2000, House of Leaves has become a cult classic, inspiring a dedicated following and a wealth of scholarly discussion. Its influence can be seen in other works of experimental fiction, as well as in the broader cultural fascination with metafiction and unreliable narrators. But perhaps its greatest legacy is the way it continues to challenge and engage readers, proving that books can be more than passive experiences. They can be spaces to explore, puzzles to solve, and mirrors reflecting our own fears and desires.
House of Leaves is not an easy read. It demands patience, curiosity, and a willingness to embrace uncertainty. But I urge you to take up this challenge, as in my opinion it offers an unparalleled literary experience.
There is even a music album called Haunted - by American singer/songwriter POE, written as a counterpart to her brother Mark Z. Danielewski's novel. The book in my opinion is a masterpiece, a testament to the power of creativity, a reminder that the boundaries of storytelling are meant to be pushed.
Like the house it describes, House of Leaves is larger on the inside, an infinite space waiting to be explored – it’s inspired me to push boundaries in my next novel!!
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(5 - As the book says "We all create stories to protect ourselves" ...)
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