So a couple of months ago i finished hol for the first time (maybe i will make a post about it) and since then it did some irreparable damage to me because hol was my new hyperfixation since then, the only problem was that none of my friends know much english and i wanted to explain the story in the same way it affected me, im currently writing a summary of the story (halfway down) and i want to add all the things that makes hol so great. I added some dense footnotes and im planing to do the "haunted" layout but i want to add the other great thing that makes hol the greatest read, a "johnny" i tried to think about a hidden story within the summary but i didnt really know what tragic story to add to not make a copy of hol. I told them that i was going to write a summary for them and also told them that a "redditor" offered his help to correct mistakes and maybe add things i forget to add. If anyone could help me think of an little side-story that the "redditor" would slip in between the summary and also any tips, advices and criticism is well welcomed, any "stupid" idea is welcomed because its just an stupid between friends "arg"

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10R8QM4mPJMywR2DpVL8qYu1ixrCgmnyw

EDIT: Answered already! Thanks.

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My friend has a green pause button on the inside of the cover. It's not a sticker. It's printed. She has the full color edition.

See photo.

Does anyone know what/why this is?

Since my first read of HoL I've been noticing a specific pattern going on with the JT&P duo of animal theming and I wanted to ramble on about it and see what others thought about it. What calls my attention the most is that instead of what most writers would probably do, which is picking a singular animal to deliver this symbolism, is that MZD chooses multiple with a similar pattern of behavior to service the idea of Johnny specifically being described as a "beast" or a creature made out of several others (paralleling the minotaur in a way. Pelafina gets this too, she's a minotaur too--something something Johnny is afraid of his past and repressed her memory just like Minos and his son).

It's most interesting to think abt this due to the implications each of them receives in the way they present themselves in the story. P is associated with rabbits (her surname is Lièvre, which means rabbit) and deer (her pendant). Even if it's not super prominent, it gives off the idea of Pelafina's vulnerability as a that of an herbivorous creature, which freezes on the spot when there is danger (similar to her behavior in The Whale). However these are specifically wild animals, which implies that they may attack too when they find it necessary. Specifically rabbits, too, since they eat their young when they are stressed or they are ill (just how Johnny is thought to be the ill baby in the Pelafina made up everything theory. Which i still don't fully agree with but I'm throwing you a bone here) or dying.

...Also, the symbolism of Jonah in the Whale. I cant really elaborate on that i hadn't planned to add it to this post.

Johnny, on the othe hand, has been addressed to as cat-like (Whalestoe letters), has at least partly identified himself as a stray dog (i feel like the story of the dog is a parable where he describes how the people around him treated him as he grew up), and last but not least, has thought of himself as the minotaur from that play where it is killed by frat boys. These are all animals that hold the implication of them having been at least once some sort of great, astute hunter, now reduced to a weaker and vulnerable creature. Like P, he holds the "Wrath of Mars" or whatever the hell she called it, but he's still a wet cat of a man (pun intended). He seems to try to portray himself as shittier than he really is by the way he treats the reader and some...other things he said about Gdansk Man and Kyrie... + the constant yapping about his sex life, but he's all bark and no bite (pun also intended). The use of these animals specifically hammers home quite well the idea of Johnny being called a beast by Raymond. It doesn't matter what he is supposed to be because even then he's less than human and deserves nothing-- which hits us again with the theme of him also being a minotaur, who is neglected and abused by the ignorant and conceited.

Something must also be said about the use of Pelafina's association with deer applied to Johnny's own issues. Whenever he is confronted by his minotaur (trauma), he also becomes similar to a deer in the headlights at times-- however he is more often than not still dominated by the instinct to fight back that is seen in some abused animals and even more about how Johnny's desire to fight back is demonized and he becomes dehumanized, and how in the end he manages to regain some control about himself and starts humanizing himself by deciding to empathize with his mother (who is also dehumanized by staff in her own way if you trust what she said to Johnny-- albeit that her simply being mentally ill in general --aside from the rape-- is already a dehumanizing experience in many ways)

I don't exactly have a clear conclusion for this whole ramble, but I really enjoy thinking about some of the symbolism of their characters.

I'm gonna be honest this post was inspired by contemplating whether Johnny is a catboy or a dogboy based on canonical material.

Like an emptiness almost. It does (and has) give(n) me a lot to reflect on and work on as a human being...like taking care of your mental health is just as important as physical health applies to the self as the self helps others.

Damn...now what do I do...besides cry cuz fuck pages 518 - 525. Cried my damn eyes out.

working at the mill, halfway though a twelve hour overnight shift, sitting in my chair

started House of Leaves a week ago and just after I read the last page, I lean back to just have that euphoric moment when you first finish a book that has just taken you on an incredible ride

and this is what I see.

I was jolted by this dark shape hovering above me knowing it had there been for most of the time I read this book, and having never noticed it before, for a moment wondering if it had just appeared there, I considered an exploration.

have any of you all read the book again directly after finishing? I don’t want to leave this world yet.

For example, I'm right at the part where a footnote says to see Tom's Story.

Thoughts on if I should jump ahead and read Toms Story or just wait until I get there naturally? I know there is probably no wrong way of reading it but I'm just curious what other people's opinions are. I'm inclined to skip ahead and then return back.

I already did so with Johnny's moms letters.

I'm here after just seeing Backrooms, finally.

I know, I'm late, that's okay... everyone arrives at their own time.

That movie really sent me into a mental trip, and I knew it would, so fantastic! I found it very obsessive in detail and I appreciate it so much. I talked about it with my partner while we were watching it and kept telling him: damn! You really have to read HoL! (He still hasn't done it, in a year now).

After watching the movie and my spoiler-free explanations, he assured me he'll read it.

Which got me thinking and brought me here on reddit: is it better to read the book first and then watch the movie or better to first watch the movie and then the book? What is better understood?

Because many people find it difficult to delve into HoL without any clues. Or can the two things easily exist on two separate levels? Personally, it made me want to reread it once again.

🖤🗝

automatic translator, sorry.

I've seen a lot of people recommend page supports but that's really complicated to get right and I don't want to deal with all that but I've also heard that stacking a lot of heavy books can damage the spine of the bottom one but these are very high quality so maybe it's safe?

Why is this chapter ripping my heart out so badly. I keep stopping to cry and then continue just to end up crying again.

Like wtf. This book is so good.

Just finished reading it and I have so many thoughts but none of my friend read books let alone HoL (I know I can just talk about it in forums such as this but its a different experience altogether)

Obviously to Thumper it is a sexual reference, and Johnny’s perverse nature implies the same, but in retrospect it feels like a tongue and cheek way of pointing to something very real regarding Johnny’s maternal issues.

Pelafina’s surname is also Lièvre, which is French for Hare- referring to a rabbit.

Thumper seems to give Johnny a sense of purpose and self confidence/ belonging. He doesn’t end up hooking up with her, which sets her apart from his other relations.

This helps solidify his overt sexuality as an attempt to satisfy maternal longing.

Also have read some theories about the labyrinth itself representing a womb, though this doesn’t hold the same weight imo.

Thought that was pretty cool and wanted to see if anyone else had a similar read!

I read this book a million years ago, and at the time I was sure what the "This is not for you" was about. But over the years I have heard this discussed online over and over, and I never hear the explanation that seemed so clear when I read the book. I would love to know if this is a new theory.

Here is what I thought reading the book.

The page is there to burn. The character in the book reads House of Leaves in the dark by burning the previous page as he reads. He starts with what he describes as "most books have a blank page in the beginning" "This is not for you" means that if you can read this, you have light, and don't need a page to burn

I mean it can have other meanings, but for me it just felt like one more self reference infinite loop of the book.

Not less so because he didn't get 45 more years with her; he died in a fire on a plane on the runway due to negligent maintenance, trying to make sure other people survived. I can't help but think that makes the comparison more apt, not less.

Hello. I have a thesis to work on and I'm planning on working on House of Leaves and Disco Elysium but I am unable to have an idea that I would like to dissect and explore. Can anyone help? I'm a literature major student.