"A mathematician can reach the end of the universe without traveling there using the laguage of numbers, there is a way to reach the ends of the heart and the soul by using words." - Mark Z. Danielewski
The absence of the source of this interview in the description is oddly fitting for this beast of a novel. If this were the only interview of Danielewski on the Internet we'd have no guarantee that this was actually Danielewski and not someone else pretending to be Danielewski. Even multiple interviews could merely be the product of what is an elaborate hoax.
i find that the book adapts to the reader, unlike most other fictional books i've read, there's no one true theme in House of Leaves, it is almost as though the book was passed from person to person and at each passing the person would add a new piece and pass it on but of course there are many recurring ideas from chapter to chapter but it just seems to encompass more then just the author's soul. i felt like the next level johnny truant as he read about navidson and his family and their interactions with others i read about truant's life while he read about navidson while at the same time i was analyzing my own life while i read about both of them, this book fucked me deep in the head but most definitely gave me a new perspective on trying to understand some of the energies of the world
I'm confused as to how this novel was labeled as a horror. Our own mind can, in fact, be horrific, but I saw this whole thing as a glimpse into the vastness of consciousness; mind, body, and soul... it may be scary to not have answers. unknowing is frightening, because we have no control... but comprehension is not needed for existence to take place and existence will be here long after we are all gone... the void will remain.
..I struggled with this, because I guess I can see how it can be beyond what horror was been shown to most, but from MY stance, it was all too relatable.. I've found myself as John Truant in multiple layers throughout my time here.. to me, his story was the novel.. or at least it was my experience with the novel. I don't find it as a horror, but a way of life.. consciousness can be a curse when you realize how little control we have over the Primal Experience. I have waded through the anti-matter of my own labyrinth.. I don't mean to take away from the book, no way... I just got something different from it. to me, it was just words that forced me to reflect in some sort of fever dream.. and I needed that. by the way, this novel was most definitely one of the greatest things I have read..
something is uncomfortable and very sad about getting to know zampano through Johnny and zampanos writing; no kids, blind, obsessive, but has desires like us, to have a son, create something lasting, express oneself. Johnny’s fucked up life made me sad too but he has a barely bittersweet ending
Now this astonishing novel is made available in book form, complete with the original full-colored words, vertical footnotes, newly added appendices, and more.
I can see why you would think that, but I'm tempted to guess that you didn't look closely enough. You're going to get lost and frustrated if you're looking for ONE meaning. House of Leaves is made of perspectives building off of one another, mixing, and colliding. But the beautiful and terrifying part is that the raw messages (plural) pierce through all of the mess and hit you right in the face. It's humbling in the way that our own manic thought processes are; it's SCARILY relatable.
Am I the only one who thought the interviewer was kind of condescending? I'm glad to have found this interview though. You don't see a lot of videos of MZD out there.
@houseofleaves12 It's a rather long story. I bought the book after a breakup I couldn get over and I started living on my own at 19 and I had a rather hard life. I would sometimes go to the bar myself alone and just lurk the net and smoke shisha. My real name is close to Johnny's too. I would read on it alone and I'd also find out about all the cryptic things in the book and somehow, I felt "at home" reading the book. It made "some" sort of sense It still has a feeling of mystery to it after you are done reading it. A fey years ago, my mom died and I was in dire straight at my job and in life in general, i was living off my inheritance and i was out of money and was starting to rack up debts. I also drank heavily and I was getting paranoid too due to my invasive landlord at the time. I was also physically ill and extremely overweight. I'm a lot better now in every aspect but around that time, Mark Z Danielewski was coming shortly in Montreal to promote his 'The Familiar' Vol. 3 book. Despite my condition, I went to the bookstore and sure enough, MZD shows up. Gives a small talk, answers questions and signs books for the visitors. He was very nice and welcoming. He autographed my copy of HOL and I was star struck We had a small discussion about the game "Limbo" since the shirt I wore that day was a video game related one. I managed to make him laugh saying my computer ran like a potato. It was a memorable experience which I almost didn't go to. I decided on a nudge to go after all and I don't regret it one bit. If I had to conclude on what aspect I relate most to it are how I felt the panic attacks I had then and how awful/terrifying they were. I guess the weird episodes Johnny has about ghosts and the language of nausia were very similar how I lived my panic attacks. Hope that helps.
Question for the poster of the video: I'm having trouble finding the origins of this interview and the information I would need to cite this as a source for a speech that I'm doing on MZD for a college course. Would you happen to know any of that? As for the interview itself, when he spoke about writing being innate and a way to reach into yourself as well as using it to reach out into the world around us, I absolutely loved that. Being a writer myself, I completely agreed. The man is a genius.
@juliew625 i noticed when i read the book alot of parts, especially the stuff johnny wrote, would make me feel really anxious and once i started reading it i couldnt stop
WARNING, SPOILERS The way I read the book, i struggled to see who the true narrator was; was johnny imagining it all through all of his archetypal friends (thumper, leud=lewd)? was it Pelafina's coping to come to terms with the death of her husband and newborn son johnny? And yes, what was Danielewsky trying teach the readers? but as i tried disecting the book more scrupulously, I realize Mark's ego and self refencing puzzles don't deprecate the novel- for me it was a twisted Autobiography
@sleepcity Oh no! If, in casual conversation, you use a word incorrectly, it destroys any credibility you have! Also, there is a verb and a noun usage of "amount," and his noun usage here is 100% grammatically correct. "quantity; measure: ex: a great amount of resistance."
@aidentheodd "It's pretty clear that either you were trying to big yourself up or just make us all feel less superior to you." What the hell does "big yourself up" mean? Also the opposite of superior is the word "inferior" not "less superior." I didn't say ALL of you are pretentious teenagers -- I'm sure many of you are just adults with bad taste. Plenty of them around. Again...just my opinion, which, by definition, I'm entitled to. Thanks for your comment.
@beatnickblanket Oh no! The usage is incorrect, chief. Amount is used for quantities THAT CAN BE MEASURED. Number is used for quantities WHICH ARE NUMBERED. Your example was "a great amount of resistance," which is something that would not be numbered but measured. Pray tell what unit would be used to measure "changes." I didn't say he wasn't "credible." I said he doesn't understand the proper usage of amount vs. number (and you don't either, apparently). Do you know what credible means?
I had heard a few friends mention the house of leaves and say that it was amazing, made them feel anxious or have claustrophobia... Ok, this book is different and engaging, but it really needs to be broken down for what it is; multiple stories running together and staggered in presentation. Although the word placement is different, it doesn't add anything to the story, especially the endless lists of places. So, the book is good on it's own, but it isn't the mind F*** i was hoping for.
Uh...are you joking? You know, sometimes things just are what they are. Pastoral, if you will. Perhaps his hair is blue because he thinks it looks good, it makes him feel attractive. Why does it have to be more? Sometimes a house...is just a house.
@sleepcity Big yourself up means to make yourself feel bigger. Even if you'd never heard that phrase before I would've thought it would be quite easy to understand. Also, I am well aware of what inferior means. Less superior works just as well. Anyway, in response to you're comment: do you realise how pretentious and arrogant you yourself sound? Have you actually read "The House of Leaves"? Why do we have bad taste if we enjoyed it? Because anyone who doesn't share you're opinion has bad taste?
@aidentheodd Oh damn...I was really trying to impress you, stranger on the internet. I'm going to go read some House of Leaves and Chuck Palahniuk and see if anybody notices me.
@sleepcity Wow!... I think your comments and "opinions" speak for themselves...id love to have an adult conversation/debate with you because I think it would be interesting aside from the petty remarks Iv seen you make...but then again..."that's just my opinion." It'd be interesting but pointless
@sleepcity It's pretty clear that either you were trying to big yourself up or just make us all feel less superior to you. Otherwise why would you come here, imply that we're all pretentious teenagers, and then correct Mara hardly noticable, quite unimportant grammar mistake? How can you honestly tell us we're pretentious when you spend your time watching RU-vid videos only to comment on how many insignificant mistakes in said video you managed to find. Don't be a hypocrite.
Camera operator needs to learn how to film things better than a chimp. Interviewer: leaning into center frame. Interviewee: dutch angle. Like, wut? Unwatchable. I listened, though.
@sleepcity "at least by pretentious teenagers and undergrads"...yeah I'd say your pretty pretentious yourself. I also find it amusing that even though everyone disagrees with you, you are still unable to see past your hypocritical views...we're all wrong and your right...end of story.
"She's gone through an enormous amount of changes." Hard to believe a writer this critically lauded (at least by pretentious teenagers and undergrads) doesn't understand the usage of amount vs. number.
@JustnKyle Right...explaining the difference between "amount" and "number" is pretentious. Glance and sound? Would be wonderful if I knew what the hell you were talking about.
