Finally got around to reading house of leaves and this book has got me absolutely floored, seriously one of the best pieces of literature I think I’ve ever read. Gives you so much to think about, it’s beautifully haunting and the way it plays with narrative structure is so damn interesting.
I’d seriously recommend this book to anyone (despite the books dedication being “this is not for you”). It’s a bit of a deep dive but it really pays off to read every single footnote, appendix, flip around when directed to, and lose yourself in the mystery of the book
I think you’re not supposed to like (much less identify with) Johnny Truant. Or Zampano, or Will Navidson. It’s basically a long exercise in unreliable narrators on multiple levels, and I think it would be fair to call it a bit of a metafictional wankfest (I say this with nothing but love). I don’t think that enjoying the story on its own merits is really the point - what he’s going for is that you enjoy the way the story is being told. If that doesn’t work for you (and for many people it won’t) then the book really has nothing else to offer you, I think.