Dear Mrs. Judy Sample,
Thank you for picking up House of Leaves and seeking to make sense of this unusual novel with us. We, in Mr. Sample’s course, agree your question is one of the first a reader should ask about House of Leaves.
I would say I think The Navidson Record is not a real documentary not just to create an unusual novel but to call into question many things we assume to know about any novel.
Things like authorship and truth, revision and narration all seem to be devices the author Mark Z. Danielewski manipulates to show us that we ultimately can not trust them and must at some point let go of our search for “sacred truth” in this novel.
In some ways, The Navidson Record is an anchor to the novel. It ties together the narration of Johnny Truant and Zampano. Being fictitious we must look for other ways to “ground” our understanding.
I hope you enjoy the rest of your reading.
Sincerely,
Adam