The Craziest Author Alive

Although since the summer before the year I went into seventh grade, I have been cherishing and exploring the expansive and often operatic works of Stephen King, the "Master of Horror" has never caused me to loose a night of sleep. I recommend his books to anyone interested in pursuing his particular genre of fiction, and friends who want to feel a shiver or two up their spine. I find his nonfiction musings in works such as "On Writing" and "Danse Macabe" insightful and engaging, and his "Dark Tower" series is a magnum opus truly worthy of one of the most published and loved contemporary authors. I believe all this, but still, I don't find his novels to be genuinely terrifying. No, the writer who has kept my nightlight on and teddy bear close more midnights than I should like to admit is Mark Z. Danielewski. 

I first heard of this man- who, judging by the content of his work, could only be considered legitimately insane or disturbed, when eavesdropping on a conversation between two of my friends. One was a guy who in my previous assumptions about him, was one who would be more likely to roll his eyes when watching a horror movie than cower under the blankets. Sarcastic and a tad introverted, he was one of the last people I would expect to admit to having recurring nightmares from a book. Naturally, I was intrigued, and also anxious to pick up a copy and promptly begin to tease him for being such a wimp in the face of what I thought would be stupidity. So, I went out to Barnes and Noble to buy "House of Leaves". Now, I do most of my reading in the hour before I go to bed, in order to unwind from the daily grind, so I settled in and cracked to spine on this new purchase. On the first page, I see an advisory: "This is not for you". I chuckle slightly at the wittiness of the inclusion. The first sentence of the novel begins, "I still have nightmares". And yes, now that around a month has passed since I concluded my first read of the novel, I still do. Without giving too much away, Daneilewski has crafted a complex series of narratives- told through something like a thesis, written by a blind man about a film which details the experiences of a family who moves into a house that is bigger on the inside than the outside- basically, it has a constantly shifting labyrinth instead of a finished basement. The dissertation is interspersed with footnotes to books, news articles and movies which have never existed, as well as notes which sometimes span several pages regarding the drug (or is it?) induced loss of sanity by a tattoo parlor employee. The book isn't written the way that normal literature is meant to be- but rather in a style that has created its own mode of expression- sometimes there is only a word or two per page, and other times, the words themselves take the formation of what is being described in them- a doorway, or a pitfall. The whole concept of the malevolence in the darkness had me breaking into a cold sweat when I turned the lights off the first night. Obviously, I never again picked up the book when after sundown. Oh? Did I mention that last year, this was assigned as a reading project for a school bookgroup? A high school bookgroup? The utter fright contained within the pages is enough to send the coldest of adults reeling, and when one factors in the frequent and somewhat graphic sex by the narrator, you're looking at a PTA nightmare. During the period that the novel was to be read by the class, I could easily see that the dark circles under many people's eyes were more pronounced than usual- and if that indication wasn't strong enough, one would only have to listen to the constant complaints of nightmares and sleeping difficulty. It's that bad.

Recently, I picked up Danielewski's most recent publication- "Only Revolutions", which some critics proclaimed a "road novel". I don't know what sort of warped universe they've fallen into, but last I checked, "On the Road" was a road novel- not a bi-narrative that requires flipping the book to the alternate cover every 8 pages and is written in an odd format of alternating dates of historical events and the diaries of two young adults which eventually converge at the Kennedy assassination. I've read my share of seriously warped and twisted books in my lifetime- but Danielewski is by far the most twisted author currently published. Excuse me- I must go and investigate when his next book is coming out.