Alex Weller’s Reviews > House of Leaves > Status Update

Johnny finishes his footnote by saying he was disgusted by the trunk's contents when he first saw it, and considered throwing it away until he saw what was inside and started piecing the story together. But he admits that this is just the simple answer, and he doesn't feel like getting into the full story.

Johnny brought home a trunk from Zampanò's apartment the day Lude brought him there, containing a shit-load of rejection letters from companies Zampanò sent his writings to. Johnny is obsessed with old forgotten, abandoned papers because they remind him of himself, after his parents died and left him all alone. That sucks, Johnny.

Just started reading Chapter 3. A translated quote from Dante's "Inferno" leads Johnny into another extensive footnote, where he wonders what got him into this. He remembers it was Lude who brought him to Zampanò's apartment, though Lude usually only calls him super late when there's a party, since Lude likes to take him everywhere and use him to entertain girls with bullshit stories.

Finished Chapter 2! Despite the tensions the family members have with each other, things eventually go well for the family. Chad is able to sleep, Daisy's finger heals, and Navidson and Karen can finally get intimate with each other. Unfortunately, those few moments are all Navidson has to show how the family was happy before everything started going south. Overall, great chapter!

While the two moments show Navidson and Karen's complicated feelings for each other, critics have been painting them as a toxic couple. Karen has been called spoiled, due to her past as a model. Navidson has actually been honest about this strained relationship with his family: He spent too much time away on work, and even became obsessed with a girl named Delial to the point where he says her name in his sleep.

Johnny feels freezing for some reason, even though it's warm in his apartment and outside. Even though maintenance people were working on the water heater, it's still not working. Johnny, however, admits that Zampanò only wrote "heater" in Karen's comment; Johnny added the word "water" himself, and he lashes out at the reader for complaining. He doesn't know why he's angry but hopes the water warms up again.

Sadly, Johnny's story didn't impress the girls enough for them to ask him and Lude on dates; they simply just walked off into the night, giggling. Johnny himself doesn't even fully remember what he told them last night. The story we have just read is just an estimate of what he might have said, and looking back on what he wrote sickens him with how fake it is. But to be fair, he was drinking last night.

Karen's comment leads us to an extensive footnote from Johnny, who woke up with a hangover and discovered his place had no hot water. The previous night, he'd been drinking with Lude and wowed some girls with a made-up story: After months at sea, he got a job pit-boxing, only to get conned by the guys who hired him, then his captain conned them by selling them exotic birds when they thought they were buying drugs.

The second moment shows Karen helping Chad and Daisy make homemade candles, while constantly glancing into the driveway to see if Navidson has come home yet. When he finally does, she leaves the room to meet him, but masks all her eagerness for him, only indifferently telling him that the water heater isn't working. She apparently loves him but at the same time, has no room for him. I see.

The second scene is revealed to focus primarily on Karen, who was a former supermodel before quitting to take care of her children. Navidson had given her a video camera to make video diary entries, which focus on her worries about leaving the city and settling into a quiet life. Interesting.