Thanks very much for this analysis, Hannah. I’ve picked up House of Leaves a number of times, flicked through it and then put it back as it looks so daunting and unusual. However, after reading your review, I think I’ll give it a go
Also, thanks for the mention of Adam Nevill. I’ve not ready any of his stuff either but looks interesting. The book blurb calls him “Britain’s answer to Stephen King.” High praise indeed. 🤔
It certainly is an intimidating book but I promise it’s not as bad once you get into it! Definitely worth a read.
I really liked Last Days but didn’t like The Ritual by him, so he’s sort of his or miss for me, you’ll have to let me know what your thoughts are if you read any of his books!
'Chapel Perilous’ — in the Grail myth, every seeker of the Grail has to enter the Chapel Perilous, where their virtue and sanity is tested. In Cosmic Trigger he writes:
Every thing you fear is waiting with slavering jaws in Chapel Perilous, but if you are armed with the wand of intuition, the cup of sympathy, the sword of reason and the pentacle of valor, you will find there (the legends say) the Medicine of Metals, the Elixir of Life, the Philosopher’s Stone, True Wisdom and Perfect Happiness.
hannah this is fanTASTIC - love the idea of Johnny indirectly entering the Navidson House and those in connection with the house being bound to their monsters. I love the idea that the house takes on the psyche of those who enter it. That humanity gets amplified the deeper you go, and as terrifying as the house is, it only is such because of the people within. We each bring our own monsters into that house, and the house merely meets us where we are and forces us to confront everything.
For me the most compelling thing about HOL is less on the monster aspect and more along the lines of the Hill House show: it's about the love! In some ways, both these houses are horrific and scary creatures, but at the heart of the story, the houses are only craving love. And I think each person that enters the house is craving that as well. It speaks to the idea of monstrous love, of being so obsessed with needing that affection that you step over the line into a space of disaster. Your love becomes so overwhelming that it turns sour. And often when we confront that head on, we have a hard time dealing with it. It feeds into the idea that Navidson is so obsessed with the house because he's so obsessed with his own heart and that Johnny is so terrified because his heart scares him.
There was sooo much I didn’t get into but I love the idea of the houses representing monstrous love or just a need for love, especially with Navidson and even Karen and the kids. Reading it is such a personal experience because it really does take shape around whatever you’re dealing with at the time. It’s such a brilliantly crafted book I’m still going through different perspectives and such. Also I absolutely will be watching thank you!!!
It's wild because I read it so long ago now it just feels like a fever dream - and back then I kind of believed I'd never reread it but now I know it's just a matter of time haha Which is honestly similar to how I feel about A Little Life...
I know what you mean I feel the same even though I just finished it, it doesn’t feel like a real book I read. I definitely will be re reading but not for a long time!! I haven’t read A Little Life I’m scared of it
I’m watching your video and just got to the part where you said Mike Flanagan should adapt it I was like yes we just said that!!!! Also enjoying watching you lose your mind over reading it hahaha
So true!! Personally Bly is at the bottom of my rankings...I just had really high expectations and I didn't enjoy it as much as Hill House. Some great work in there for sure, just purely personal preference I think.
For me it's Hill House > Midnight Mass > House of Usher > Bly Manor
I love how every one of his works has something different to offer he’s so brilliany
I didn’t enjoy Fall of the House of Usher as much as I thought I would :( but for me Bly Manor is after Hill House, I’m a sucker for lore and love stories
If he ever picked up HOL I’d truly lose my mind though
In all fairness I have only seen Bly once and I think my viewing of it was kind of tainted by COVID and high expectations so I wonder how I would feel if I rewatched it...but that's so fair about Usher - I enjoyed it a lot personally but I can get why it would be disappointing in some ways!
This is a really excellent review!! I love books that leave themselves open to analysis and multiple theories (part of why I loved and picked apart Our Wives Under the Sea and will likely read again).
Have you read Piranesi? That's another one I started but got too distracted to give my full attention. I'm excited to eventually get through it, as it has a similar haunted house/maze/wtf is going on here vibe. :)
I adored Piranesi!! It does have the same sort of thing, but also entitled different which I love it for. I’ve got to do a deep dive into Our Wives Under the Sea theories soon!!
A companion album to the book!! I had no idea, extremely grateful that you shared that morsel.
Super enjoyed reading your analysis and it is reeeeally tempting me to finally re-read it this year (it's such an experience, but such an undertaking that I've been putting it off for like 5 years LOL). Going to really enjoy priming myself for it with all the supplementary material you provided here :))
If you want a (wholly unserious) cinematic companion to this book, check out Dave Built a Maze! It's a super fun watch, and likely even more so just after reading House of Leaves. The plot reminded me of the Navidson House except it's a maze made of cardboard boxes. Might make for a nice lil palette cleanser hehe
I will absolutely watch that it looks very fun & I need something unserious right about now! You’ll have to let me know if you do a re-read and what you pick up!! I loved the book so much but I was SO glad when I finished it is truly such a task!!
Also! There’s a movie called ‘You Should Have Left’ that looks sort of similar but it’s not very highly rated. I think it would be impossible to do a faithful movie adaption to HOL there’s just too much dependent on the actual reading of it, but I’d love to see someone try
Ooooh interesting! I wonder if it'd be bad enough to make for an entertaining watch :')
I would love to see it adapted too, but you're so right that it'd be a massive undertaking, especially when trying to translate those elements of physical reading that are so important to the experience.
The best case scenario I can imagine would be like a 10 episode HBO limited series -- there are just so many moving parts I can't imagine even shrinking it down to 3 hours!
Very true it would have to be a series! I did read that Danielewski wrote a few scripts for episodes for Netflix I believe it was, but it never ended up happening and I think you can get the actual scripts on his website (which I might just have to do)
I honestly think if anyone could do a faithful adaption it would be Mr Mike Flanagan!!!
I have never heard of this novel! Metafiction at its most extreme. Reminds me of Croatian writer Milorad Pavic, but to the nth degree. My question is this, though: Is it overly long?
It’s about 700 pages, but to be fair with the formatting some aren’t full pages of text & there’s a whole part that’s just photographs. Either way I’d definitely say it’s worth the time & effort
Sounds right up my alley. Pavic wrote one novel that has a male and female version; another meant to be read two different ways; another that is a dictionary with entries. Fun, creative stuff.
I’ll definitely check it out!! I love books outside traditional borders of literature, I went down a rabbit hole after HOL and found out it’s a whole genre
I've always been a fan of the 80s/90s metafictional works of John Barth and Robert Coover. Italo Calvino's If on a Winter's Night a Traveler is a real mindbender as well.
Ma'am. I could have read five more pages of this. Brilliant.
Its been a long time since I read House of Leaves in my severely angsty youth, but I remember being confused and inspired at the same time. I have long been interested in haunted houses and have a novel I'd like to write about one. I love the comparison to Hill House - it also makes me think of White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi and also (don't laugh) Paranormal Activity. They all work to unsettle you and I love when the house has agency, it lives and breathes and is evil ::shivers::
Haunted houses are my favorite trope ever because there’s truly so much variety out there & so many different directions it can be taken it & so many things they can represent.
I’d very much love to read anything you write about haunted houses!! I’m thinking of doing a list of rapid fire haunted house books reviews (but I need to read a few more classics to complete it)
Also, haven’t heard of White if for the Witching but I’m looking it up!!
Thanks very much for this analysis, Hannah. I’ve picked up House of Leaves a number of times, flicked through it and then put it back as it looks so daunting and unusual. However, after reading your review, I think I’ll give it a go
Also, thanks for the mention of Adam Nevill. I’ve not ready any of his stuff either but looks interesting. The book blurb calls him “Britain’s answer to Stephen King.” High praise indeed. 🤔
It certainly is an intimidating book but I promise it’s not as bad once you get into it! Definitely worth a read.
I really liked Last Days but didn’t like The Ritual by him, so he’s sort of his or miss for me, you’ll have to let me know what your thoughts are if you read any of his books!
Chapel Perilous
https://crypticchroniclespodcast.com/the-chapel-perilous/
I will check that out thank you!
You are very welcome!
'Chapel Perilous’ — in the Grail myth, every seeker of the Grail has to enter the Chapel Perilous, where their virtue and sanity is tested. In Cosmic Trigger he writes:
Every thing you fear is waiting with slavering jaws in Chapel Perilous, but if you are armed with the wand of intuition, the cup of sympathy, the sword of reason and the pentacle of valor, you will find there (the legends say) the Medicine of Metals, the Elixir of Life, the Philosopher’s Stone, True Wisdom and Perfect Happiness.
hannah this is fanTASTIC - love the idea of Johnny indirectly entering the Navidson House and those in connection with the house being bound to their monsters. I love the idea that the house takes on the psyche of those who enter it. That humanity gets amplified the deeper you go, and as terrifying as the house is, it only is such because of the people within. We each bring our own monsters into that house, and the house merely meets us where we are and forces us to confront everything.
For me the most compelling thing about HOL is less on the monster aspect and more along the lines of the Hill House show: it's about the love! In some ways, both these houses are horrific and scary creatures, but at the heart of the story, the houses are only craving love. And I think each person that enters the house is craving that as well. It speaks to the idea of monstrous love, of being so obsessed with needing that affection that you step over the line into a space of disaster. Your love becomes so overwhelming that it turns sour. And often when we confront that head on, we have a hard time dealing with it. It feeds into the idea that Navidson is so obsessed with the house because he's so obsessed with his own heart and that Johnny is so terrified because his heart scares him.
Not to show off my own stuff but I did a vlog for this in 2020 if you wanna relive the absolute horror: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVMMRlXlCdE&ab_channel=jennaclarek
There was sooo much I didn’t get into but I love the idea of the houses representing monstrous love or just a need for love, especially with Navidson and even Karen and the kids. Reading it is such a personal experience because it really does take shape around whatever you’re dealing with at the time. It’s such a brilliantly crafted book I’m still going through different perspectives and such. Also I absolutely will be watching thank you!!!
It's wild because I read it so long ago now it just feels like a fever dream - and back then I kind of believed I'd never reread it but now I know it's just a matter of time haha Which is honestly similar to how I feel about A Little Life...
I know what you mean I feel the same even though I just finished it, it doesn’t feel like a real book I read. I definitely will be re reading but not for a long time!! I haven’t read A Little Life I’m scared of it
I’m watching your video and just got to the part where you said Mike Flanagan should adapt it I was like yes we just said that!!!! Also enjoying watching you lose your mind over reading it hahaha
Makes me wanna do another Hill House rewatch but I must abstain hahaha
It’s always time for a Hill House rewatch!! Also what were your thoughts on Bly Manor? If you’ve seen it. I know some people don’t like it as much
So true!! Personally Bly is at the bottom of my rankings...I just had really high expectations and I didn't enjoy it as much as Hill House. Some great work in there for sure, just purely personal preference I think.
For me it's Hill House > Midnight Mass > House of Usher > Bly Manor
I love how every one of his works has something different to offer he’s so brilliany
I didn’t enjoy Fall of the House of Usher as much as I thought I would :( but for me Bly Manor is after Hill House, I’m a sucker for lore and love stories
If he ever picked up HOL I’d truly lose my mind though
In all fairness I have only seen Bly once and I think my viewing of it was kind of tainted by COVID and high expectations so I wonder how I would feel if I rewatched it...but that's so fair about Usher - I enjoyed it a lot personally but I can get why it would be disappointing in some ways!
This is a really excellent review!! I love books that leave themselves open to analysis and multiple theories (part of why I loved and picked apart Our Wives Under the Sea and will likely read again).
Have you read Piranesi? That's another one I started but got too distracted to give my full attention. I'm excited to eventually get through it, as it has a similar haunted house/maze/wtf is going on here vibe. :)
I adored Piranesi!! It does have the same sort of thing, but also entitled different which I love it for. I’ve got to do a deep dive into Our Wives Under the Sea theories soon!!
A companion album to the book!! I had no idea, extremely grateful that you shared that morsel.
Super enjoyed reading your analysis and it is reeeeally tempting me to finally re-read it this year (it's such an experience, but such an undertaking that I've been putting it off for like 5 years LOL). Going to really enjoy priming myself for it with all the supplementary material you provided here :))
If you want a (wholly unserious) cinematic companion to this book, check out Dave Built a Maze! It's a super fun watch, and likely even more so just after reading House of Leaves. The plot reminded me of the Navidson House except it's a maze made of cardboard boxes. Might make for a nice lil palette cleanser hehe
I will absolutely watch that it looks very fun & I need something unserious right about now! You’ll have to let me know if you do a re-read and what you pick up!! I loved the book so much but I was SO glad when I finished it is truly such a task!!
Also! There’s a movie called ‘You Should Have Left’ that looks sort of similar but it’s not very highly rated. I think it would be impossible to do a faithful movie adaption to HOL there’s just too much dependent on the actual reading of it, but I’d love to see someone try
Ooooh interesting! I wonder if it'd be bad enough to make for an entertaining watch :')
I would love to see it adapted too, but you're so right that it'd be a massive undertaking, especially when trying to translate those elements of physical reading that are so important to the experience.
The best case scenario I can imagine would be like a 10 episode HBO limited series -- there are just so many moving parts I can't imagine even shrinking it down to 3 hours!
Very true it would have to be a series! I did read that Danielewski wrote a few scripts for episodes for Netflix I believe it was, but it never ended up happening and I think you can get the actual scripts on his website (which I might just have to do)
I honestly think if anyone could do a faithful adaption it would be Mr Mike Flanagan!!!
Every day I wake up and pray that Mike picks up that book and decides to change the world. He's the only one who could do it justice!!
Mike Flanagan save us!!!! He’s the only one I trust with this
oh i would LOOOVE to see a Flanagan adaptation. lmk if you peek at those scripts, my interest is piqued
I have never heard of this novel! Metafiction at its most extreme. Reminds me of Croatian writer Milorad Pavic, but to the nth degree. My question is this, though: Is it overly long?
It’s about 700 pages, but to be fair with the formatting some aren’t full pages of text & there’s a whole part that’s just photographs. Either way I’d definitely say it’s worth the time & effort
Also I’ll have to check out that author!
Sounds right up my alley. Pavic wrote one novel that has a male and female version; another meant to be read two different ways; another that is a dictionary with entries. Fun, creative stuff.
I’ll definitely check it out!! I love books outside traditional borders of literature, I went down a rabbit hole after HOL and found out it’s a whole genre
I've always been a fan of the 80s/90s metafictional works of John Barth and Robert Coover. Italo Calvino's If on a Winter's Night a Traveler is a real mindbender as well.
I’ll be adding those to my list! Although I’m definitely taking a break from mind bending books for a while HOL took a whole lot of brainpower
Jumping on this thread, i had heard of it before, but now i am excited to check it out. Gonna go find somewhere this week.
Ma'am. I could have read five more pages of this. Brilliant.
Its been a long time since I read House of Leaves in my severely angsty youth, but I remember being confused and inspired at the same time. I have long been interested in haunted houses and have a novel I'd like to write about one. I love the comparison to Hill House - it also makes me think of White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi and also (don't laugh) Paranormal Activity. They all work to unsettle you and I love when the house has agency, it lives and breathes and is evil ::shivers::
Ah thank you!
Haunted houses are my favorite trope ever because there’s truly so much variety out there & so many different directions it can be taken it & so many things they can represent.
I’d very much love to read anything you write about haunted houses!! I’m thinking of doing a list of rapid fire haunted house books reviews (but I need to read a few more classics to complete it)
Also, haven’t heard of White if for the Witching but I’m looking it up!!