It Begins.

Dearest Readers,

I have begun reading House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski.  I unfortunately must report that my progress has been rather slow.  I am afraid my work has kept me away from reading, as I have to rise out of bed at the ungodly hour of 3:30 in the morning if I want to arrive on time.  Not to mention the damned coffee machine broke, it just boils the water at the top, not allowing the nozzle to spew forth the scalding water into the grounds.  Thank goodness my parents have a tea kettle and I insisted on getting a french press.  However I simply refuse to let it stand in my way.  I may have only reached chapter 4, but I do have few things to note upon.


~~SPOILERS!?~~  (I plan on talking about the story that Lies within the pages of the book, and while I'm not going to tediously describe in great detail everything that happens, I will be talking about very specific events that unfold, particularly the ones with facets of horror.)

I find that Danielewski (or should I say, Zampano) makes it known in the beginning that rather unpleasant events will transpire in the future, but does not say what.  The fact that some torturous occurrence will befall upon the inhabitants of the house is forthright, yet the what is mystery as of yet is what pulls me in.  I like mystery.  There was a page describing an overwhelming fear that took hold of Truant, as he stood in the tattoo parlor.  It spoke specifically to the reader, explaining to them what to do to feel the same fear.  I made an earnest attempt to follow the rules laid out by Mr. Truant, and it did not consume me as wholly as I had wished.  I think that was the purpose.  Perhaps the author wanted to lure the reader into a false sense of security, that "this is the worst it's gonna get" sensation.  I hope so.  I hope that this mere half-hearted monologue was simply a clever ruse that beLies the true horror that arises later.

I did however, disobey one of his orders, I turned my head to look behind me to make certain nothing was there.  I don't really know why I did that.  It was perfunctory.

I am starting to think that maybe I should include links to the footnotes that specifically call out folklore, such as when the author mentions the "Cottingley Fairies."  Perhaps over the next few posts I may be able to provide images that prove useful.