Mark Z. Danielewski's 'House of Leaves' Published in French by Denoël

Mark Z. Danielewski's experimental novel 'House of Leaves' (La Maison des feuilles) was published in French by Denoël in fall 2002, translated by Claro. The 709-page book is a typographic tour de force, treating the page as a field for experimentation with varied layouts, fonts (Courier, Times, Gill), and 443 footnotes that often overwhelm the main narrative. The story is layered across three and a half levels: Danielewski, the fictional author Zampanò, annotator Johnny Errand, and translator Claro. It centers on a documentary film, the Navidson Record, about a Virginia house larger inside than outside, which grows and spawns mysterious corridors. The book's form mirrors its content, creating a labyrinthine reading experience. Denoël invested in the rights and production, producing a visually striking object with the word 'maison' always in blue. The novel is described as an 'Unidentified Literary Object' (OLNI), blending real and invented references from literature, art, philosophy, and science.