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Description edit
Years ago, when House of Leaves was first being passed around, it was nothing more than a badly bundled heap of paper, parts of which would occasionally surface on the Internet. No one could have anticipated the small but devoted following this terrifying story would soon command. Starting... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Characters/People edit
- Johnny Truant: A tattoo artist's apprentice who finds and collates Zampanò's book.
- Zampanò: The old man who previously inhabited the apartment where Johnny Truant found The Navidson Record.
- Lude: Johnny Truant's best friend. His life revolves around drugs, sex and parties.
- Thumper: Stripper who regularly visits Johnny's tattoo parlor. Johnny is somewhat obsessed with her.
- Pelafina H. Lièvre: Johnny's institutionalized mother.
- Will Navidson: A famous photojournalist who moves to a house in Virgina with his young family. He originally planned to create a documentary on family life and installed cameras throughout the house in order to do this. However, when the house starts shifting he switches plans and begins to film the stuff of nightmares.
- Holloway Roberts: An experienced explorer tasked with investigating the hallway in the Navidson house. He is responsible for filiming the ending scenes of Exploration #4 in the Navidson Record.
- Karen Green: Will Navidson's partner who exibits a deep fear of their household after it begins to shift, the claustrophobia from her early years coming back to haunt her. She is generally insecure regarding her relationship with Will; as the house grows the rift between them also begins to widen.
- Tom Navidson: Will Navidson's brother who is known for his unfailing sense of humor. He hasn't gotten nearly as far in life as Will has due to his lack of motivation, but he has a heroic streak that people sometimes tend to look over.
- Billy Reston: A wheelchair-bound engineer who takes interest in the oddities of Will Navidson's house
- Kirby 'Wax' Hook: Add a description of this character.
- Jed Leeder
- Chad Navidson: did not like book at all
- Daisy Navidson: Will Navidson's daughter
Quotes edit
-
“This is not for you.”
Johnny Truant -
“I've learned not to scream. Screaming gave me hope and unanswered hope is shattered hope.”
Pelefina Heather Lievre (Johnny's Mother) -
“A maze. Amazing maze. A maze meant…What did it mean? A May zing perhaps. M.A.s in the bush or amidst the maize. Quite amazing huh? Not to worry I am not that impressed either but grant an old man a chance to play.”
Zampano -
“Patience is the darkest side of power.”
-
“They say truth stands the test of time. I can think of no greater comfort than knowing this document failed such a test.”
Zampano -
“I'm sorry, I have nothing left.”
Johnny Truant -
“I will become, I have become, a creature unstirred by history, no longer moved by the present, just hungry, blind and at long last full of mindless wrath.”
Johnny Truant -
“Where, I wonder, is the Phalaris responsible for lighting this fire now sweeping over my sides and around my shoulders? And if Zampano's gone - and I suddenly know in my heart he is very, very gone - why does this strange music continue to fill that black room? How is it possible the pipes in my head are still playing? And who do they play for?”
Johnny Truant -
“I'm lost. Out of food. Low on water. No sense of direction. Oh god . . . Holloway Roberts. Born in Menomonie, Wisconsin. Bachelor's from U. Mass. There's something here. It's following me. No, it's stalking me. I've been stalked for days but for some reason it's not attacking. It's waiting, waiting for something. I don't know what. Holloway Roberts. Menomonie, Wisconsin. I'm not alone here. I'm not alone.”
Holloway -
“To get a better idea try this: focus on these words, and whatever you do don't let your eyes wander past the perimeter of this page. Now imagine just beyond your peripheral vision, maybe behind you, maybe to the side of you, maybe even in front of you, but right where you can't see it, something is quietly closing in on you, so quiet in fact you can only hear it as silence. Find those pockets without sound. That's where it is. Right at this moment. But don't look. Keep your eyes here. Now take a deep breath. Go ahead, take an even deeper one. Only this time as you exhale try to imagine how fast it will happen, how hard it's gonna hit you, how many times it will stab your jugular with its teeth.”
Johnny Truant -
“Captain Kittinger, you have brought us an early fall this year.”
Zampano -
“Let me tell you this, Will Navidson did everything for that woman. He was solid. Once, for a thirteen month stretch, she wouldn't let him touch her. But he never budged. Loved her just the same. I doubt that punk would have lasted a week. So give it a rest @$$hole.”
Billy Reston -
“Despite tremendous amount of material generated by Exploraion A, no one has ever commented on the game Daisy wants to play with her father, perhaps because everyone assumes it is either a request "to play always" or just a childish neologism. Then again, "always" slightly mispronounces "hallways." It also echoes it.”
Zampano -
“the longest unzipping of my life”
-
“Too bad dark languages rarely survive”
Setting & Locations edit
- New York
- Virginia
- Paris
- London
- Cambridge
- Rom
- Ash Tree Lane
- Massachusetts
- Bude
- Beispiel
- Los Angeles
- Ohio
- Washington
- Frankfurt
- D.c.
- Seattle
- Berlin
- Baleworth
- Charlottesville
- Texas
- Philadelphia
- Behauptung
- Zampana
- Alaska
- Chicago
- Kapitel
- San Francisco
- Besitz
- Farben
- Seil
- Venedig
- Pfad
- Unterhaltung
- Esau
- Einstellung
- Studio
- Leiden
- Anbetracht
- Boston
- Umständen
- Anblick
- Bemerkung
- Anschein
- Portland
- Mein Herz
- Menomonie
- Essen
- Mailand
- Baltimore
First Sentence edit
This is not for you.
Table of Contents edit
Foreword
Introduction
THE NAVIDSON RECORD
Exhibits One - Six
Appendix: Zampano
A. Outlines & Chapter Titles
B. Bits
C. ... and Pieces
D. Letter to the Editor
E. The Song of Quesada and Molino
F. Poems
Appendix II: Johnny Truant
A. Sketches & Polaroids
B. The Pelican Poems
C. Collages
D. Obituary
E. The Three Attic Whalestone Institute Letters
F. Various Quotes
Appendix III: Contrary Evidence
Index
Credits
Yggdrasil
Errata edit
When it first becomes clear that the house is larger on the inside than it is on the outside, the author at one point states that the house is larger on the outside than it is on the inside, instead of the other way around.
Series & Lists edit
This book is in Significant Speculative Fiction (Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror). (community list)
This is book 1 of 2 in Johnny Truant. (standard series)
Followed by Whalestoe Letters.
This is book 198 of 199 in Newman and Jones 200 Best Horror Novels. (community list)
This is book 124 of 200 in BBC 'Big Read' Top 200 Novels, 2003. (authoritative list)
This book is in Guardian 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read. (authoritative list)
This is book 107 of 1286 in 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. (authoritative list)
Authors & Contributors edit
- Mark Z. Danielewski (Author)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Random House
Country: United States
Publication Date: March 7, 2000
ISBN: 0-375-70376-4
Page Count: 736
Publisher: Random House
Country: United States
Publication Date: March 7, 2000
ISBN: 0-375-70376-4
Page Count: 736
Awards edit
- Bram Stoker Award (Finalist, 2000: First Novel)
- BBC's Big Read (April 2003, #124)
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: PS3554.A5596 H68 2000
- Dewey: 813.54
Subjects edit
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