t is really easy to be pretentious about this book, so I'll keep it brief: this book took me for one heck of a ride. You will either love it, or hate it. There really ain't much middle ground.

Don't read any summaries about the book unless you want to risk losing all the surprises. All you need to know is that this is a fiction horror novel that isn't really just a novel: it makes the reader REALLY unsure of what is fiction (and there are at least three 'authors.' A notepad is invaluable for this book). As meta-fiction or deconstructionist novels can go, there are points that painfully drag on, but those aren't the parts that stay with me. It's the evenings reading the book turned 45 degrees, or copying notes to paper like a madman in search for hidden messages, or playing notes on my piano to hear what song is in a character's head, that I will remember for a long time.

Also, this book is adult. Very adult.

Great book! Very intense read. I found myself having to go back and re-read passages because it's so abstract and the way the book is assembled makes for a great reading adventure.

This book came into my possession in 2003. I was stationed in Iraq, hanging out with a battle buddy. He and I were hanging out in the recreation tent at Baghdad International Airport (BIAP, aka Camp Sather) watching DVDs and perusing books. Sam, my battle buddy, hands me a battered copy of this book, and says, "I tried reading this-- but I think it's more your speed."

We parted ways in November. I was headed home, he went to another location. I was on a layover at an airbase in Al Udeid when I started reading this book.

And by "reading this book", I meant devouring it, like Bastian did as he holed himself in the attic of his primary school, surrounded by food, covered in a rough blanket, sequestered from the rest of the world, pouring through a mighty tome about a story without an end.

I didn't put the book down save to sleep and trek out to the latrine to do what needed to be done every few hours or so. I usually burn through a book in a few hours, but this one demanded time and attention, lest I run over vital. I was taken by the unreliable narrator of Johnny Truant, and I was enthralled by the journey Navidson endured in reclaiming his life from the horrifying macguffin that was the house his family lived in (and people died horribly in).

Navy and Johnny were two sides of the same coin, bound together by the mysterious scratches of a dead, Milton-esque man. Their stories were so disparate and yet so interconnected. The fabric between them was everywhere from rough and roughly hewn to diaphanous and metaphysical. The footnotes of footnotes were layers upon layers -- toying with the reality in which the contents of the book existed. Rules were set up and broken, and yet, everything was cohesive as long as the reader had the endurance to follow along.

I've seen a LOT of the One-Star reviews complain that they weren't snagged within the first 100 pages. Pity-- Not everything is a slamming action-fast-paced piece of NASCAR fiction that grabs one by the genitals and rips them off in the first two pages. If you aren't in for the slow burn, then the first five words of the book ring true:

This is not for you.

House of Leaves became a seminal event in my life when I finished reading it. The darkness in my life, punctuated with walking away from a war with my life and body in tact, became that much clearer from the light-- and I somehow began finding awe and inspiration with greater ease. Some have said that it's a story about people coming to grips with loneliness and/or depression. Some have said it's a love story.

No one is wrong in their discovery. The only wrong that may be done is to criticize a book unread.

To that end, I've ended up buying different copies of this book, like a madman collecting any copy of JD Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye" they could get their hands on, or a person who absolutely could not would not leave the house without a pair of gloves to shield their hands from the world. Whenever I mentioned the book to a friend, they usually ended up being the recipient of the copy I bought.

The original copy I received, the one Sam gave me, is in a fireproof safe. Well-worn with a hand-written note scribbled on the front page, I refuse to part with it. But at this point, I'm considering buying a new copy so that I can read it again.

I enjoyed this. There were times when I wanted to quit, I didn't care about the characters, but then danielewski made so I started to care, then I actually liked them and cared about what was to become of them.

The best book you will ever love to hate to love! It will drive you crazy as you cannot put it down. It is for a select type of person. You will either loathe it or devour it like the most delicious thing you have ever had in your life. It is not for everyone. It will lead you right into The Familiar series if it is your cup of special tea. I loved this book and I love The Familiar series. Cannot wait for The Familiar 4 to come out in February 2017!