I think I speak on behalf of a majority of the class when I say I took a long sigh of relief after finishing House of Leaves. That’s not to say I wish I hadn’t read the book; reading House of Leaves was an experience I have never had before. The constant shifting and turning of the book, the […] Read more →
“I Meant to Do That”
A couple of summers ago, I attended a small gallery done by a German publishing company that specialized in photo books and book binding called Steidl Books. After an hour long displays of books and realizing font experts were an actual thing, I realized that the way a book is set up is not as simple or slapdash as… Read more →
“Get out of the house, you idiot!” – The horror trope
We are all familiar with the horror trope of the stupid family that refuses to leave the haunted house. In House of Leaves, the Navidsons are that stupid family that refuses to leave the haunted house. Will, along with his girlfriend Karen,… Continue Reading → Read more →
Questions of Authorship
I won’t even attempt to offer a normal English class interpretations for the mass amount of information thrown at me by Mark Z. Danielewski. I just want to know one thing, which character “wrote” House of Leaves? Initially, the text lead me to believe the blind Zampanò authored The Navidson Record, Johnny Truant found it, wrote Continue Reading Read more →
A “House of Leaves” Survivor
I just finished reading “House of Leaves” and….I don’t know how to feel. This has been a book that has: put me sleep, kept me up at night, given me an arm workout from turning it upside down every other page, led me to download a Piano app on my phone, and generally, has been … Continue reading A “House of Leaves” Survivor Read more →
Is Navidson reading about himself?!
Before entering into the labyrinth for what would ultimately be his final expedition, Navidson packs an array of supplies to take with him. One of the items that Navidson takes with him happens to be a book. Considering the past events that occurred within the labyrinth, I found this odd. When would Navidson have the […] Read more →
Poets in House of Leaves
When we were first introduced to Zampano at the beginning of House of Leaves, I immediately connected him to Homer. Blind poet who writes this epic, monstrous work – especially one so rooted in Greek mythology – he has to be Homer! But then as the book progressed, I got struck by his similarities to Jorge Luis Borges, who was… Read more →
What I Have Thought about “What Some Have Thought”
I was impressed by how many things the short section “What Some Have Thought” is doing (p. 354-365). First, it’s a sort of SparkNotes or “Navidson Record” for dummies in that it does all sort of interpretation for you. There’s literal readings of the house, feminist, Freudian, philosophical, and scientific readings etc. The meaning of […] Read more →
My not so positive book review… Hopefully my honesty is well received!
I am using this blog post as an opportunity to express my frustration thus far in the reading. It will be interesting to see if my peers share similar sentiments. Danielewski is an author I do not enjoy spending time with. While I understand that it is his intention to be vague, abstract and downright […] Read more →
Zeno’s Paradoxes and the uncanny
Some of the strangest knowledge I’ve learned in college has been in physics. While theories and laws on things such as gravity seem intuitive and common sense, others, such as string theory or the theory of relativity, are just bizarre. It’s interesting that some modern theories of physics sound remarkably similar to ancient philosophy, […] Read more →