House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
The novel is a complex and multi-layered narrative that revolves around a young man who comes across a manuscript written by a blind man about a documentary that doesn't appear to exist. The documentary is about a family who moves into a house that is larger on the inside than it is on the outside, with shifting walls and hallways that lead to impossible spaces. The novel is known for its experimental layout, with some pages containing only a few words and others filled with footnotes, different fonts, and sideways text, reflecting the disorienting and labyrinthine nature of the house itself.
The 607th greatest book of all time
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Total Points: 612
This book was first published in 2000
16 Lists
- score: 103 -- Fifty French Writers Choose Their Favorite 10 Books - 2022 (Weight: 170)
- score: 102 -- The Great American Novels - 2024 (Weight: 166)
- score: 97 -- The 25 Masterpieces of World Literature That Will Define the 21st Century - 2025 (Weight: 160)
- score: 51 -- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read - 2009 (Weight: 140)
- score: 39 -- The 100 Best Novels Of All Time (Runners-Up) - 2026 (Weight: 60)
- score: 37 -- Click If You Dare: 100 Favorite Horror Stories - 2018 (Weight: 70)
- score: 37 -- As if You Don't Have Enough to Read, Fiction Edition - 2011 (Weight: 100)
- score: 32 -- Quintessential American Fiction, According to the Rest of the World - 2015 (Weight: 60)
- score: 29 -- The 50 Best Horror Novels of All Time - 2018 (Weight: 51)
- score: 25 -- Truelit's 100 Best Books of the Quarter Century - 2024 (Weight: 40)
- score: 17 -- The Big Read - 2003 (Weight: 70)
- score: 13 -- 25 best pieces of Horror Fiction of the 21st century so far - 2025 (Weight: 21)
- score: 11 -- Horror: Another 100 Best Books - 2005 (Weight: 40)
- score: 11 -- 50 Books to Read Before You Die - 2012 (Weight: 26)
- score: 1 -- Our Users' Honorable Mention Favorite Books of All Time - 2024 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 25 Novels to Understand Our Reality from 2000 to The Present - 2024 (Weight: 1)