Contingencies of ‘Community’: An Investigation of House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski and Online Discussion Forums
Submission Type
Paper
Start Date/Time (EDT)
19-7-2024 10:30 AM
End Date/Time (EDT)
19-7-2024 11:30 AM
Location
Narrative & Worlds
Abstract
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, with its humongous fan following, created, structurally and metaphorically, a labyrinth that links and un-links narratives. A house that grows inside and stores an array of codes that await exploration can and has evoked curiosity. The idea of the ‘reader,’ ideal or not, who is presented with the challenge of traversing the text, to acquire a sense of closure that text refuses to provide in a postmodern fashion, is played with by the text. While one struggles to find ‘connections’ within the text, a community that explores the idea of a collective effort to decipher. Mark Z. Danielewski regularly engages with the decoders/readers and partakes in the process of meaning-making, as a reader, challenger, and the challenged. Popular forums include “r/HouseofLeaves subreddit,” “Goodreads House of Leaves Group,” “The Navidson Record Forum” and “House of Leaves Facebook Group.” The labyrinthicity, its ergodic nature, and its scope as a postprint text that was circulated online before publication grabs the text its cult following, and secures its position in dedicated forums worldwide. The paper investigates House of Leaves as a component of a larger context of discourses that attempts to incite interest as challenges and the resultant communities that exist and perform as vital ‘links,’ for the challenged and curious reader. House of Leaves brilliantly builds a fictional world that defies the conventions of interpretations and the representation of the ontological separation of fiction from reality. The paper is an attempt to navigate the conceptual contributions of the forums that connect the demanding text with committed readers. It will investigate how the discussion forums can be a deeper dive into the text, whether to transpire as a rabbit hole or as the collective provider of readerly satisfaction, a sentimental disposition the text plays with. The paper analyzes how selected forums function as a community, shape reader perspectives, and promote an experimental textual culture, as a link to the text and the broader implications of reader engagement of experimental fiction in the digital landscape.
Recommended Citation
Ajith, Abhirami Ms., "Contingencies of ‘Community’: An Investigation of House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski and Online Discussion Forums" (2024). ELO (un)linked 2024. 8.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/elo2024/narrativeandworlds/schedule/8
Contingencies of ‘Community’: An Investigation of House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski and Online Discussion Forums
Narrative & Worlds
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, with its humongous fan following, created, structurally and metaphorically, a labyrinth that links and un-links narratives. A house that grows inside and stores an array of codes that await exploration can and has evoked curiosity. The idea of the ‘reader,’ ideal or not, who is presented with the challenge of traversing the text, to acquire a sense of closure that text refuses to provide in a postmodern fashion, is played with by the text. While one struggles to find ‘connections’ within the text, a community that explores the idea of a collective effort to decipher. Mark Z. Danielewski regularly engages with the decoders/readers and partakes in the process of meaning-making, as a reader, challenger, and the challenged. Popular forums include “r/HouseofLeaves subreddit,” “Goodreads House of Leaves Group,” “The Navidson Record Forum” and “House of Leaves Facebook Group.” The labyrinthicity, its ergodic nature, and its scope as a postprint text that was circulated online before publication grabs the text its cult following, and secures its position in dedicated forums worldwide. The paper investigates House of Leaves as a component of a larger context of discourses that attempts to incite interest as challenges and the resultant communities that exist and perform as vital ‘links,’ for the challenged and curious reader. House of Leaves brilliantly builds a fictional world that defies the conventions of interpretations and the representation of the ontological separation of fiction from reality. The paper is an attempt to navigate the conceptual contributions of the forums that connect the demanding text with committed readers. It will investigate how the discussion forums can be a deeper dive into the text, whether to transpire as a rabbit hole or as the collective provider of readerly satisfaction, a sentimental disposition the text plays with. The paper analyzes how selected forums function as a community, shape reader perspectives, and promote an experimental textual culture, as a link to the text and the broader implications of reader engagement of experimental fiction in the digital landscape.
Bio
Abhirami Ajith is a PhD scholar in English at Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. Her research interest includes Contemporary Experimental Fiction, Semiotics, Postmodern Literature and Textuality Studies. She completed her Bachelor’s in English from BCM College, Kottayam and Master’s in English from The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad.