KATG Book Club: House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

[william]

Originally Posted by 36D

A couple of my favorite quotes thus far:...

Fleeting but powerful - so often people focus on taking pictures of the overall. The birthday party with a plethora of pictures of child with cake, child unwrapping gifts, child holding gift up and smiling. But focusing in on the child trying to lick frosting off his nose, or the discarded wrapping paper on the ground is taking a closer look at a moment that otherwise would have gone unnoticed and forgotten.

Darwin, Dee! Good quotes. Keep them coming!!!

And yea. Agreed with what you wrote on pictures, hence the gigs oh photos I've amassed of the world about me.

Tons of photos of the street I live on, mailboxes, doorways, my kitchen unoccupied, people on the street, a closet or draw open and captures untouched.

Never artistic - just life and it's little bits recorded for the future me, for I hope someone - my son? my daughter? my grandchildren if they are to be - to one day look back and traverse time, touch not only who I am now but where I was, what I saw.



.

[DWarrior]

1. Why is it that Johnny Truant's footnotes matter in the novel? What do they add/take away from Zampano's story?

I'm not sure, so far I don't see much of a connection but I'm assuming this is all just a setup for later. Need more data.

2.What possible explanation can you give as to why the house is changing itself?

Again, maybe I'm approaching this with a total lack of imagination, but I don't have any theories.

3.We're told early on that The Navidson Record doesn't exist. On page 16, Truant tells us that he added the word "water" to a sentence of Zampano's text. We are given letters from Truant's mother who is in a mental institution. Are any of our narrators trustworthy? Is there anyone we can rely on to tell the truth?

Yeah, this whole book is a collection of fairly unreliable secondary sources. I also wondered what the purpose of that 2-page footnote that culminates in him saying he added water to the heater, but my best guess is it was meant to further explain his character (that story on how he makes shit up to entertain chicks). I'm also sure the unreliability of the narrators is part of the design, but again...I don't know what the point is.

4. Chapter V begins with Zampano discussing echoes. How is what is happening inside the physical house an echo of what is occuring inside the house?

Is it, or is it the other way around? The book makes it seem like the people are echoes of the house, but maybe it's not meant to be that way at all.

5. Who is your favorite character and why?

Navidson, ldo.

[DWarrior]

Originally Posted by 36D

Interesting of note.


truant (Plural: truants)
Noun

1. One who is absent without permission, especially from school.

Is Truant his pen name? In Appendix II D (Obituary), his dad's last name is blanked out. Presumably, Jonny didn't change his last name, and he lived with his dad until his death (thus the dad wouldn't have a reason to change his name, either). Why would it be blanked out then if we already knew it?

[DWarrior]

Originally Posted by william

Ha! Reading on in the Carter Wiki I note the following:

Will Navidson, a character from the Mark Z. Danielewski novel House of Leaves was partially based on Kevin Carter.

Wonder if the Darger was right as well.

So where are we with this joint reading?

Anyone else have thoughts / responses to the questions posted?

And what should be the next target chapter?

How many people have actually read up to chapter 5? So far I don't see many people chiming in. I'm a fairly slow reader, but I didn't have trouble getting through chapter 5 and the appendix in a week, so I think I can easily keep up with the equivalent for this Friday.

I definitely couldn't get through it in one day though like you originally posted (unless that deadline was set before you made this thread).

I'm currently on Page 90 in Chapter 7, but looks like later on there are a ton of blank pages and cutouts. I think it shouldn't be that difficult to get through chapter 10 by this Friday. I assume you've already read this book though, so maybe you can pick a better milestone.

[36D]

Originally Posted by DWarrior

How many people have actually read up to chapter 5? So far I don't see many people chiming in. I'm a fairly slow reader, but I didn't have trouble getting through chapter 5 and the appendix in a week, so I think I can easily keep up with the equivalent for this Friday.

I definitely couldn't get through it in one day though like you originally posted (unless that deadline was set before you made this thread).

I'm currently on Page 90 in Chapter 7, but looks like later on there are a ton of blank pages and cutouts. I think it shouldn't be that difficult to get through chapter 10 by this Friday. I assume you've already read this book though, so maybe you can pick a better milestone.

Don't have the book in front of me - how many pages is that?

[DWarrior]

It's until page 245, but for a hundred pages, there's literally 3 lines of text per page.

[StuartPants]

Originally Posted by DWarrior

It's until page 245, but for a hundred pages, there's literally 3 lines of text per page.

wait what? chapter V doesn't end on page 245. Unless I'm missing something. Aren't the chapters labeled as Roman numerals? Unless you're counting the huge sum of pages in the appendix re: John's mother's letters. I am done with chapter V and am slowly making my way through the letters.

I have no idea where this is going. I hope the mystery of the house is not a let down as I have completely built my expectations up. Somehow I feel like the house's effect on a person (though only Navy has entered it so far) is dependant on the person (a la playing on your fears or your past). As much as I want the house to represent or actually be the inside of the explorer's head or even a link to possible realities, not only would that be a simple explanation but it seems a deliberate attempt was already made to reject these possibilities. paraphrase "unlike a twilight zone episode, there is no simple mystery to what the house is: 'a door to another dimension' etc.'"

Thoughts?

[36D]

Originally Posted by StuartPants

wait what? chapter V doesn't end on page 245. Unless I'm missing something. Aren't the chapters labeled as Roman numerals? Unless you're counting the huge sum of pages in the appendix re: John's mother's letters. I am done with chapter V and am slowly making my way through the letters.

I think he meant that Chapter X ends on page 245, which is what he's saying we should read up to by Friday.

[36D]

Originally Posted by rajjy

This thread is so gay.

Dear rajjy,

Stop fucking up the book threads or I'll post your palindrome. Thanks

<3 and boots,
Dee

[DWarrior]

Originally Posted by 36D

Dear rajjy,

Stop living. Thanks

<3 and boots,
Dee

fyp