Eden & Az

paradise > Az!
paradise > I haven't
paradise > would you recommend I buy or borrow it?

wizard of az > It depends on what you like.
wizard of az > It doesn't really have a main protagonist, unless you count the titular Master and his lover, Margarita.
wizard of az > Most of the novel revolves around the exploits of Woland, a mysterious professor who arrives in Moscow along with his entourage, including a naked woman and a giant cat.
wizard of az > Woland is actually Satan, who's in town to run a show and wreak havoc in Moscow.
wizard of az > Within the first 40 pages a man gets his head cut off. The severed head shows up later in the book when Satan throws a party.
wizard of az > I would check it out at the library first and then buy it if it intrigues you.
wizard of az > It's a pretty interesting take on the Faustian tale.
wizard of az > I'm sure that it would be more popular if it didn't have the jarring format of switching to the perspective of a completely different character virtually every chapter.
wizard of az > It also does some non-linear stuff by diving into the Master's novel, which revolves around Pontius Pilate and his condemnation of Jesus.
wizard of az >
wizard of az > Sorry. I get excited when I talk about books.

paradise > it seems so interesting!
paradise > i'll take your word and borrow first, but with such a glowing appraisal, I'm sure it'll be worth my money
paradise > and it's really really alright!
paradise > I love books too
paradise > it's really nice to see someone who is so openly passionate about them!
paradise > I'm not the best at talking about them myself
paradise > but I love reading, and I love listening to other people who love reading

wizard of az > I'm not great with people so I prefer books.
wizard of az > Which is weird because I'm an empath so you'd think I'd be awesome with people.
wizard of az > Books are just... nice. They don't leak emotions out at you and they're predictable when you've read them a few times.
wizard of az > Plus they're a pretty easy way to understand people. I've found you can tell what kind of person someone is depending on the books they read and how they interact with them.
wizard of az > Whether they read for pleasure, or read to be educated, or read to gain a new perspective.
wizard of az > Things like that.
wizard of az > Do you have any recommendations? How are you liking House of Leaves so far?

paradise > you seem fairly good with people from what i've seen
paradise > or at least
paradise > you're good with me, haha
paradise > you've become a quick friend!
paradise > um, for reference
paradise > i guess i mostly read for entertainment, i love going to new worlds
paradise > as well as it's a lot more free then other forms of media in terms of how long you have to take
paradise > it doesn't matter if i'm full of energy or if i'm very low, i can still read
paradise > and i can stop and start when i need without feeling like i'm missing something
paradise > oh! House of Leaves is a little odd duck huh?
paradise > the formatting is really something
paradise > it makes me think
paradise > not enough to shut all my windows and put measuring tape all around my house but maybe we'll get there still!

wizard of az > I'm not normally great with people.
wizard of az > I tend to keep my empathy suppressed because I think it's rude to invade other people's feelings like that. So I guess I'm not actually great with reading people.
wizard of az > I'm honored to be your friend, though.
wizard of az > Personally I read mostly for pleasure, but I also like reading things that make me change my perspective on things.
wizard of az > Things that make me think.
wizard of az > Like House of Leaves!
wizard of az > I like the multiple narrators and perspectives it has, though it makes it a little tricky to keep up with the story since Johnny's narration seems to be nonlinear.
wizard of az > It's also interesting to see the differences between their narration. Zapato's writing is concise and clear, while Johnny...
wizard of az > Rambles.
wizard of az > A lot.
wizard of az > Did you reach the two-and-a-half-page sentence yet?

paradise > that's really thoughtful
paradise > the not wanting to invade people's feelings thing
paradise > i'm sure if you could be more upfront about your considerate nature, you'd make a lot of friends
paradise > oh! reading for different perspectives is great!
paradise > and House of Leaves sure has those
paradise > i've probably hit the two-and-a-half-page sentence but i wasn't exactly paying much attention
paradise > i get lost when reading Johnny's segments easily, so he could be rambling for ten pages and i wouldn't notice in particular

wizard of az > I'm not really one to take the initiative though...
wizard of az > Even when we met, you were the one that talked to me first I think.
wizard of az > House of Leaves is a pretty interesting analysis of different narratives intruding on each other and gradually becoming more unreliable as the book progresses.
wizard of az > Johnny sure does like to ramble, huh.
wizard of az > At least they got the part about men doing nothing but talk about themselves right.

paradise > that's because you gave a pleasant aura!
paradise > i'm sure a lot of people feel it, you just have to somehow let them know you're approachable!
paradise > House of Leaves is really interesting
paradise > did you know, i thought 'Ed' was a character called 'Edward' at first?
paradise > but it's the editors
paradise > i was definitely thrown for a loop the first time they said anything
paradise > they did get that right, that's for sure
paradise > i guess Zampano also rambles in his own way
paradise > but it's easily forgive him because you forget that he's not talking about a movie that exists in his reality

wizard of az > I give off a pleasant aura...?
wizard of az > I try my best to stay in the background most of the time.
wizard of az > Yeah, I guessed Ed was 'Editor' because it had a period after it.
wizard of az > I can see how you thought otherwise though.
wizard of az > Zampano is ALLOWED to ramble, though. Because it's his manuscript.
wizard of az > It's Johnny who's intruding in on it and providing his running commentary, and his commentary almost literally runs off somewhere else entirely half the time.
wizard of az > In-universe, I'm not sure why the editors left his notes in. Half the time he's not even talking about something that's related to what's going on in the Navidson Record.

paradise > maybe being in the background is your pleasant aura!
paradise > doesn't it say somewhere in the beginning of the book about the editors?
paradise > wait
paradise > yeah!
paradise > they wrote the foreward!
paradise > coughs anyway
paradise > but yeah!
paradise > i meannnnnnnnnn
paradise > all of that is assuming the reality of each layer
paradise > is Johnny interupting Zampano's story?
paradise > or is Zampano a fiction character in Johnny's story?
paradise > if Zampano doesn't exist, then Johnny is just interrupting his own story
paradise > oh! and!
paradise > Johnny doesn't exist anyway, and Zampano doesn't!
paradise > it's all Danielewski!
paradise > so he's just interrupting himself!

wizard of az > You make it sound like I'm doomed to be a side character...
wizard of az >
wizard of az >
wizard of az > You're making my brain hurt with all this meta.

paradise > no!
paradise > you start in the background, but then you become the main character!
paradise > it's a surprise twist!
paradise >
paradise > hehe sorry
paradise > it's just super interesting to me
paradise > like even at times you forget that Navidson was made up by Zampano
paradise > and you're engrossed in his story like it happened as well