House of Leaves

When I was a young, young teenager, I fell in mad, unbridled love with Stephen King books. I devoured them like crazy, read them over and over, couldn't get enough. Shortly after finishing the book Christine, I was in a parking lot full of cars while shopping, and a feeling of uneasiness spread through me. Logically, I knew the cars were not going to start up by themselves and come after me. But still...the very fact that a book had that kind of power excited the hell out of me.

Sadly, these kinds of feelings fade as we grow older.

However, several years ago, a cousin of mine told me about this book that she was reading called House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski. With wide eyes, all she could say about it was, "It's crazy!"

That was enough to pique my interest. I ordered it from the library. I had no idea what to expect. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

The book is insanely experimental. It goes beyond the boundaries of how you think a book should be. It's a story within a story, but it's so much more. There are puzzles I will never figure out. There are literally hundreds of footnotes, some of them completely random and made up, some of them just pages of lists of people. There is technical stuff about architecture. There are pictures, letters, different fonts, and sometimes you have to turn the page sideways or around in a spiral, or look in a mirror to read the words.

I don't think it's just being gimmicky to be cool and different. There is a brilliant art form here. The structure of the book and the words themselves reflect the story. There are so many things you take for granted. For one thing, your freaking house. Of course the door is always going to be in the same place it has always been. The bathroom will always be the same size. And so on. These things are stable in our lives.

The book has been described as horrifying, or scary. I think it's a lot more unsettling. There is the house, which is not stable like a house should be. There is no monster, no killer, no evil thing. Just your life thrown into uncertainty. And then there's the person who is editing this book, whose story is read in the endless footnotes, and his downward spiral into madness.

Shortly after finishing the monster of a book, I attended a wedding dance. While leaving the dance, I tripped over the step going out of the building. I stared at it for a full minute, sure that it hadn't been there before when I went into the building. It was unnerving, like the cars in the parking lot.

Jackpot.

I can't remember how I discovered Poe, but then I found out her brother was Mark Danielewski. In fact, her album Haunted was written in conjunction with the writing of House of Leaves. I don't love every song by Poe, but I think she is awesomeness for real. I wish she would come out with some more music. I heard a rumor she might. I listened to the album (well, some of the songs) while re-reading the book lately. It's an incredible journey. Unforgettable. Haunting.