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font sizes. If you attempt to read this book in the bath,
you’ll probably drown.
The book’s ambition is also its downfall. The crazy
typography and constant interjections from Truant (and
others) make it difficult to follow parts of the story and,
in the early sections especially, you’ll be sorely tempted
to throw the book out of the window. Many of the tangents
– psychological theories, local history, analysis
of photographs, lists of camera equipment – overstay
their welcome, and the ending is curiously flat, as if
the writer suddenly ran out of ideas. Some scenes jar
with the rest of the book; in particular, Truant’s description
of his trip to a bar, where he talks to a band and
BUY Mark Danielewski books online from and
discovers they’ve read the book he’s still writing. This
is either an unintentional error or – even worse – a hamfisted
“it was all a dream” scenario lifted straight from
an episode of Dallas.
House Of Leaves is a brave attempt to do something
different, updating Burroughs’ cut-up technique
for a new generation of readers. At over 700 pages,
however, the novel would have benefited from some
judicious editing, and the overall impression is one
of a writer too enamoured with typographical tricks.
Nonetheless, House Of Leaves is an original and
unique novel; for all its faults, it’s unlike anything else
you’ll read this year. �
191
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