'House of Leaves' by Mark Z. Danielewski

Laura, you might as well not bother with the Johnny Truant bits, honestly. The Zampano part really is a ripping good yarn, horror-wise. Then again, you might not want to take the horror recommendations from a guy who practically muted the scary scenes in Alien (where the guy went after the kitty).

The whole scholarly edifice is actually completely unnecessary to the horror plot. I know that Zampano is supposed to be a critique of academia, but the critique doesn't have a lot of legs and easily gets overshadowed by the plot.

I like books with ridiculous footnotes, though (cf: The Third Policeman). I only remember the one which was a list of significant buildings, because when I bought the book I lived next-door to one of them.

But then the plot and my enthusiasm both just petered out. I skimmed over the letters at the end and I don't really care to figure out all the references anymore - I was reminded a little of the scene at the end of The Usual Suspects where you realise the whole thing is just a charade, based on irrelevant ephemera, and signfies nothing.

You all know Pelafina wrote the book, right?

should I read this or is it a bunch of wank?

mostly wank. someone should do a jefferson and abridge the mofo.

You should read it - it doesn't take long. Though I totally agree with the people upthread saying the Truant bits are annoying.

The bits with the house are genuinely creepy though

yeah i never finished but it's the only book that i've read where i was actually like 'creeped' while reading

For the ILB crowd... a pilot script for a streaming version that didn't come to fruition.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/w8ju058vnudefwz/HouseOfLeavesPilot_ByMarkZDanielewski.pdf?dl=0

I reaklly enjoyed it when i read it `15 years back. I think I read it summer of 2003 when i was reading pretty much non-stop. getting through things in a couple of days if not shorter then having to go back through them. think it may have taken me a bit longer to get through cos i did enjoy it.
Picked it up from a charity shop after that and don't think I've looked at that copy.
But did like the sudden labyrinth bits and stuff.

I've got this on my shelf. love the idea but not sure I've got the patience to hold such an awkward book for any extended period of time

I enjoyed the pilot script and am glad he decided to share it. I'm sad that the show didn't go ahead given the promise of this glimpse.

For all its flaws (Truant being the biggest of them, general smugness a close second) I love it, and think about it most days. It gets as close to a rendering of the uncanny as anything I can think of and you can map all sorts of stuff onto the house and Navidson's experience of it: depression, the infinite nature of the self (our experience/navigation of it, at least), hermeneutics. I barely think of it as a ghost story.