Hmmm. Like many others, I was carried to 'The Familiar' on the crest of a wave that was 'House of Leaves,' which I thought was excellent and unique.

I guess though, if I'm honest, I questioned my critical analysis of Danielewski's work/style as being too superficial - too seduced by aesthetics (which were by no means unique only unique to my own experience) to really evaluate if he wrote well and whether his skill was that of a writer and storyteller not just in his choice of graphics and typography. These questions lurked when I began The Familiar (and its visually irregular format) but sadly they now hold centre stage having finished volume 1 and with volume 2 sturdily taking up space in my bookcase upstairs.

I made sure to read a broad set of reviews after finishing the book and it is apparent I am not alone in my opinions, not at all. As an art student, I was regularly frustrated by art that alienated the viewer/reader due to being highbrow or ambiguous (ergo pretentious). I think Danielewski evokes similar feelings for me, perhaps even more so due to the fact he uses words - that which are used as a means to communicate.

He does communicate on some levels. There are many story threads which can be followed and less so that cannot but I just don't understand why there are even any in the first place. Perhaps, in the forecasted 27 volume, Tv showesque format, this is a prerequisite for development and scene setting. One reviewer made the astute comparison to this being a pilot, where not everything is right but the foundations are laid. I liked this and in turn it convinced me to cautiously venture forth to the second volume. I will however be keeping an eye out for anymore vacuous prose that bamboozles, graphics that seem more haphazard than well chosen or dodgy phonetical attempts at patois.

The caveat of this review is that Danielewski could be operating on an intellectual frequency significantly higher than my own (to a level Harry Seldonesque even!) and that in fact everything will be brought together in the greatest series ever written and I will realise how much of a huge dumbo I am. Without wanting to demean myself too much, I hope this is true. I will be watching (reading) 👀 ( )

Language is putty in Danielewski’s expert hands. I choose to refrain from further elaboration until after I read at least the next few volumes (though before the proposed twenty-seven). ( )

Unreadable gibberish. Not worth the time. Very disappointed. ( )

It is very misleading to give this a 3 - 3.5 'average' rating as this is anything but an average literary work. That overall score is a hedge--I'd give

2- for the actual story
4+ for the creative and wholly original storytelling elements.

Although I love reading experimental fiction which has much greater reading risk/reward by definition, what Danielewski does graphically and with fonts and sentence structure is fascinating.

There are maybe 6 (or 8?) different story lines in this volume - very different characters, settings, contexts and situations that the author sets up in this first volume ostensibly to connct later.

There's not much meat of story here and even the contextualizing feels somewhat unnecessary. I think I could in one sentence sum up what storyline contributes to the plot, or rather, what I think the plot is building towards. even if I can't tie everything together neatly yet. This single volume was over 800 pages and it feels very unsatisfying - like he barely scratched the surface of the plot when you're done. Or at least, that's what it felt like for me.

Truth be told - reading this is a lot of work for what, at least in this first volume, is not a super impressing, compelling or engrossing story with little reward for the effort. It's dressed to thrill, but underneath - the promise far exceeds the reality. YMMV, but I felt zero emotional impact or connection.

I'm saying that as someone who loved House of Leaves in form and narrative. I loved that. So far, I admire and appreciate, but hardly love this.

What's fantastic and what makes this worth reading for at least a few more subsequent volumes is the visual storytelling experience - the way the text is laid on the page, the syntax structure and pacing, the typefaces/fonts all play a role in shaping how each character and storyline thinks and operates.

There's a preview of the second volume at the end of the first that involves overlapping letters/words making a bird shape and it it...masterful and menacing and simply amazing. Even in the first volume, the text takes literal shape in ways that are beyond comparison.

I've never seen anything like it and it's genius in concept, even if that genius hasn't yet been fully realized in execution. This is truly literature as art - a sort of performance theater/gallery exhibit in book form.

I guess I'm hoping if I stick with it, the execution will catch up to the concept. Or at least, there won't be such a gap in between them. I own the next few volumes, so for sure I'll make it through those eventually.

At this point, I'm not sure I've got the stamina (or patience) for a slow payoff across the promised 27-28(!) volumes.

Other practical things of note:

I highly recommend avoiding the Kindle/ebook version at all costs. I can't see how it would translate translate from page to digital. It'd be an excruciating reading experience for sure.

Beware the weight--the printed book is STUNNING, but seriously HEAVY - uncomfortably so for smaller hands or more senior readers with arthritic hands. I'd lose feeling in my leg from balancing the book or have to shake out my hands from time to time...I've read some thick and meaty books in my day, and the weight of this was like nothing else I could remember either. ( )

I started rereading this & honestly it's a VERY low 2 stars. There's no way anyone's buying 27 books of this. No way in hell. ( )