House of Leaves: To finish or not?

When Johnny Truant attempts to organize the many fragments of a strange manuscript by a dead blind man, it gains possession of his very soul. The manuscript is a complex commentary on a documentary film (The Navidson Record) about a house that defies all the laws of physics. Navidson's exploration of a seemingly endless, totally dark, and constantly changing labyrinth in the house becomes an examination of truth, perception, and darkness itself. The book interweaves the manuscript with over 400 footnotes to works real and imagined, thus illuminating both the text and Truant's mental disintegration. First novelist Danielewski employs avant-garde page layouts that are occasionally a bit too clever but are generally highly effective. Although it may be consigned to the "horror" genre, this novel is also a psychological thriller, a quest, a literary hoax, a dark comedy, and a work of cultural criticism. It is simultaneously a highly literary work and an absolute hoot. This powerful and extremely original novel is strongly recommended for all public and academic libraries.-Jim Dwyer, California State Univ. Lib., Chico Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc

Most of you that know me, know that I love to read. I always have a book close at hand to pick up and read when the opportunity arises. Lately I have been shaking up my reading by reading two books simultaneously (the last 2 J. Patterson books and one of my "Outlander" series books). That didn't go too badly. I think because I was in need of a change of writing style and both Patterson books were quick reads. It was really nice to get totally into a book, to not be able to put it down. That doesn't happen very often these days. Which brings me to my next point, and the whole reason for this post.

My good friend Heather (Hi! Heather! - miss ya!) and I often read books together as a way of keeping close and trying to narrow the distance gap. Reading and being able to talk about the same book makes her seem not so far away. Kinda cheesy I know, but totally true... anyways! She mentioned that she was interested in this book and that she had heard good things about it. So, I ordered it from the library and was surprised by it's size. It's almost like a textbook and that's not where the similarities end. I also only had 3 weeks in which to read the book and no chance to renew. The basic story sounded very very interesting but the writing style is awful and very difficult for me to follow. There are changes in font, lots and lots of references and footnotes, pages and pages with only one line written (not sure if that's for dramatic effect or not, I didn't make it that far).

I hate to admit this, but I am going to have to stop reading it. There are very few books that I can honestly say I did not care to finish but this was one of those books. I have read approximately 50 pages and while I am interested in the basic plot, I can't get past all the things that I mentioned above. It makes the book very very hard to read. I suppose that for some, it would seem a challenge, an obstacle to an otherwise great story, a true test of will, you get the idea. Unfortunately I think I am at a point in my life where I don't want to waste my time. I don't have a lot of free time anymore and so I want to spend what time I do have very wisely and if that means putting a book down in favor of something more enjoyable than that's a sacrifice I am willing to make.

So, I will be returning this one to the library, hanging my head in defeat, that I could not read it. At least not right now, maybe when I don't have a 3 week deadline. I guess I will return to Claire and Jamie!