Ruth’s Reviews > House of Leaves > Status Update

Well. That was a wild ride. Going to write a brief review, may revise later after some time on House of Leaves forums.

This hallway scene is giving real Cave of Amigara Fault vibes. This reminds me of horrific cave diving stories.

I think I figured out what this book is all about.

This book is strange and it has strange pacing. Zampanō’s ramblings are often excruciating; Truant’s can be, but they are more interesting because we are getting snippets of character development (though he is a very disturbed person). The Navidson Record is gripping and I want more. Putting the book down now at 1:22am because I want to read the next part, but I know I won’t survive another tangent rant. 😴

Myst and D&D mentioned

The most recent stretch of pages picked up a bit. The Navidson house certainly is eerie. And these letters from Truant’s mother… I’m not yet sure what to make of all these little details that my keen editing eye catches like typos and strange font kerning. This is obviously a very intentionally crafted book.

I’m struggling with this a bit but remaining open-minded. This book is a very slow read. The two narrators are insufferable - an overly pretentious pseudo-intellectual and a womanizing drug addict that appears to be descending into madness. I don’t think we are supposed to like them, and I think the way I’m reacting to this is sort of the point. Curious where this goes, but it’s a bit of a slog so far.