House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
"House of Leaves" is the debut novel by Mark Z. Danielewski, published in 2000, that is recognized for its innovative narrative structure and unconventional formatting. The novel weaves together three interrelated storylines, prominently featuring photojournalist Will Navidson, a blind author named Zampanò, and Johnny Truant. The plot unfolds when Truant discovers Zampanò's manuscript, which serves as an academic analysis of a fictional documentary titled "The Navidson Record." This analysis explores the eerie experiences of Navidson's family after they move into a house that defies the laws of physics, leading to a labyrinth of increasingly strange spaces.
Danielewski employs a variety of typographical styles to differentiate narrative voices and to challenge traditional reading experiences, often incorporating footnotes that reference nonexistent sources. The novel has been categorized as a metafictional and postmodern horror story, winning literary accolades such as the New York Public Library's Young Lions Fiction Award and receiving a nomination for the Bram Stoker Award for best first novel. Additionally, its legacy extends to other creative works by Danielewski and his sister, enhancing its cultural impact. Overall, "House of Leaves" invites readers into a complex interplay of reality, fiction, and the psychological effects of its narrative.
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House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
House of Leaves is the debut novel of author Mark Z. Danielewski, published in March 2000 by Pantheon Books, then an imprint of Random House. The novel is notable for its unconventional format, in which different words are rendered in blue, red, or purple, depending on the edition, and the reader must follow several nonlinear narrative threads at once. Often described as a metafictional or postmodern horror story, House of Leaves won the New York Public Library’s first annual Young Lions Fiction Award for authors thirty-five and under and was nominated for the 2000 Bram Stoker Award for best first novel.
Overview
House of Leaves features three layered story lines, each one centered on a particular character or group of characters: photojournalist Will Navidson and his family; a blind author named Zampanò; and Johnny Truant, an apprentice at a tattoo shop in Los Angeles. When Zampanò dies, Lude, a neighbor of Zampanò’s and a friend of Truant’s, finds a manuscript in the dead man’s apartment. Lude calls Truant, who comes to see the apartment and takes the manuscript home with him.
The conceit of the story is that House of Leaves is Zampanò’s manuscript, which Truant had published, interspersed with his notes and narration. The first layer of the narrative structure follows Truant as he reads and edits the manuscript and, gradually, descends into madness. The second layer is the manuscript itself: an academic analysis of a documentary film called The Navidson Record, which Zampanò discusses as though it were real, though Truant is unable to find evidence that such a film was ever made. The third layer follows Will Navidson as he films the documentary Zampanò is discussing.
Navidson’s story starts as he and his family—longtime girlfriend Karen Green and their two children—move to a house in rural Virginia. Shortly after they move in, the house begins to undergo inexplicable changes: a door appears in the master bedroom, leading to a closet-like space that was not there before; when investigated, the interior of the house proves to be a quarter inch larger than the exterior, a discrepancy that grows over time; and a dark hallway appears in the living room. The hallway also continues to grow, eventually leading to a massive complex of other rooms and hallways.
The different narrative voices in the book are indicated by different fonts. Changes in narrative are indicated by footnotes, rather than by traditional page breaks. Other footnotes cite sources that do not exist, though some of the sources are real. Text is sometimes printed sideways or in other orientations on the page, and the word house is always printed in blue (or, in editions with limited or no color printing, gray). In some editions, the word Minotaur is printed in red, as are sections of text that have been crossed out.
Other creative works associated with House of Leaves include Danielewski’s epistolary novella The Whalestoe Letters, ostensibly a collection of correspondence between Truant and his mother; and Haunted, the second album from Danielewski’s sister, Annie Danielewski, who performs under the stage name Poe. Both works were released in October 2000. Haunted features numerous references to House of Leaves, including a line in the title song that refers to “this house of leaves” and another song called “5 1/2 Minute Hallway,” which, in the novel, is the name under which the first footage of The Navidson Record originally appears.
Bibliography
Carpenter, Kasey. “Post-Mortem: House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski.” LitReactor. LitReactor, 17 Feb. 2012. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.
Danielewski, Mark Z. “Haunted House: An Interview with Mark Z. Danielewski.” Interview by Larry McCaffery and Sinda Gregory. Critique 44.2 (2003): 99–135. Print.
Danielewski, Mark Z. House of Leaves. New York: Pantheon, 2000. Print.
Danielewski, Mark Z. The Whalestoe Letters. New York: Pantheon, 2000. Print.
Kelly, Robert. “Home Sweet Hole.” Rev. of House of Leaves, by Mark Z. Danielewski. New York Times. New York Times, 26 Mar. 2000. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.
Poe. Haunted. Atlantic, 2000. CD.
Poole, Steven. “Gothic Scholar.” Rev. of House of Leaves, by Mark Z. Danielewski. Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 15 July 2000. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.