I’m not quite sure what to rate this book. I understand that the whole purpose is that the film within a book within a book within a book is intended to be confusing, but I’m having a hard time even coming to conclusions. For most of the book, I was really enjoying both the strange layout and intertwining experience of the text and the stories, but I think I expected to have a few more loose ends tied up by the conclusion. I am glad to have read this, and it was definitely the right decision for me to read this independently of any other books, but I’m quite ready to return to more typical reading. 

The Navidson Record is a fascinating concept of a film, and I think that was my favorite aspect of the book. On the other hand, all of Johnny Truant’s footnotes were intriguing, though some of them were utterly disturbing and over the top, and while I think it was mostly intended to augment the rest of the story, I ended up preferring the time in Zampano’s story than the confusing back and forth about Johnny’s personal history. 

I think I’ll need to listen to a few more podcasts and read some more literary analyses to continue processing what’s happening in this book, and I’m looking forward to understanding other close readings. 

- interesting to discover that the structure was based in part on that of the Talmud