Formal elements of postmodernism: a comparative analysis of the novels House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski and 2666 by Roberto Bolaño

The subject of this study is the implementation of key poststructuralist and postmodernist ideas in Mark Z. Danielewski’s "House of Leaves" and Roberto Bolaño’s "2666". The object of the research is these novels themselves, examined as works of postmodern literature through the lens of philosophical concepts such as Michel Foucault’s discourse and genealogy, the “death of the author” as formulated by Roland Barthes and Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida’s deconstruction, the rhizome, desiring-machines, and the body without organs developed by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, Barthes’ notion of myth as a secondary semiotic system, and Jean Baudrillard’s theory of the consumer society. The author closely analyzes such aspects of the topic as the novels’ multilayered discursive structures, the mechanisms by which philosophical concepts are implemented, and their influence on the reader’s perception. Particular attention is paid to the interrelation between philosophical ideas and literary technique, the formation of a new textual reality, and the critical rethinking of classical narrative forms. The methodological foundation of the research is based on poststructuralist and comparative approaches to textual analysis, previously tested by the author in the study of House of Leaves. The novelty of the research lies in its integrative approach to analyzing House of Leaves and 2666, which are here examined together for the first time through the lens of a broad range of poststructuralist concepts. The main conclusions of the study confirm the hypothesis that poststructuralist methods are productive for analyzing both texts and reveal the specific ways in which philosophical ideas are realized. The author’s particular contribution lies in the detailed description of the workings of such concepts as discourse, genealogy, the “death of the author,” deconstruction, desiring-machines, and the body without organs, as well as the substantiation of the idea that the texts of Danielewski and Bolaño function as open, rhizomatic, and decentralized structures. The study demonstrates that both novels enact a model of writing in which meaning is not fixed but exists in constant motion and transformation—an insight that enables a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of meaning production and disappearance in postmodern literature and contemporary culture as a whole.

Postmodernism, Discourse, Deconstruction, Rhizome, Genealogy, Simulacrum, House of leaves, The Desire Machine, Post-structuralism, The body without organs