The Navidson Record (the book in the book) is a wonderful story. Even the small amount of information on Zampano is greatly interesting, I wish there had been more on him. However, the character Johnny Truant and the intrusions by him into the text, while providing nice background and extra information, were my least favorite parts. In fact it was only in the very end (a chapter focused wholly on him) that I even cared for the character. The book as a whole was absolutely intriguing. I tore through the pages as the pages tore through me. It messes with your emotions and your thoughts and even between readings it lingers in your mind, whispering to you through your day. This was a hefty novel that I hold with a sense of accomplishment in completing, and yet, I wish I had more information. My only solace is knowing that to explain everything, to remove all the curtains and shed light on every corner would very likely ruin the magic and make for a very uninteresting read.
A blind old man, a young apprentice working in a tattoo shop, and a mad woman haunting an Ohio institute narrate this story of a family that encounters an endlessly shifting series of hallways in their new home, eventually coming face to face with the awful darkness lying at its heart.