141. Danielewski, Mark Z. The Whalestoe Letters. 83 pages. 12.16.09.

The Whalestoe Letters by Mark Z. Danielewski is an extension of his premier novel, House of Leaves. Initially appearing as an appendix to the novel, The Whalestoe Letters (which includes ten additional letters) are those written by Johnny Truant's mother Pelafina H. Lievre during her residence at the insane asylum. Like House of Leaves as a whole, The Whalestoe Letters is to fiction and literature what thought experiments are to physics; Danielewski seems to write and publish to push boundaries and test waters for no other reasons than curiosity. While I would argue that the experiment of House of Leaves is very interesting, his subsequent publications are less successful. The (limited) success of The Whalestoe Letters is that it makes me want to go back and read House of Leaves once again.