July 9, 2004

12:27 PM

bookfilter...
I too remember a book from when I was about 12-13. A group of teenagers are put into this 3D labrynth and are fed by a machine that lights up and some how gets the point across that they must be meaner and meaner and more violent towards each other to get food out of the machine. Over time, they become very violent as the machine teaches them that's what they need to do to get food. The end is this boy's reflection on what happened once he's figured out he was part of an experiment. Any ideas the name of the book?
posted by aacheson to (12 comments total)

House of Stairs, by William Sleator.
posted by hattifattener at 12:36 PM on July 9, 2004

Named after the Escher illustration, no doubt.
posted by majcher at 12:45 PM on July 9, 2004

Dude, I just mentioned that book like ten threads over. Woah.
posted by jessamyn at 12:58 PM on July 9, 2004

William Sleator has written some incredible juvenile fiction, with very unusual subjects. Does anyone know of any similar fiction authors that would appeal to an adult reader?
posted by the biscuit man at 1:34 PM on July 9, 2004

Dude! Like three weeks ago I bought that from Amazon, and read it on the train in a day. That one certainly made an impression on me when I was a wee one.
posted by sugarfish at 1:42 PM on July 9, 2004

I still have nightmares about that book.
posted by judith at 2:53 PM on July 9, 2004

William Sleator has written some incredible juvenile fiction

Heh. At first I read that as "incredibly juvenile fiction."
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 4:23 PM on July 9, 2004

A very sweet book, I'd also recommend by the same author: "others see us" and the "boy who reversed himself" as books I read during middle school some 8 years ago and can still remember clearly.
posted by woil at 1:32 AM on July 10, 2004

Wow. I remember that book from when I was a kid, and now I'm going to have to find a ciopy. Glad you mentioned this.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 2:34 AM on July 10, 2004

Sleator's The Green Futures of Tycho is also pretty great.
posted by dong_resin at 3:48 AM on July 10, 2004

Thanks all. Its crazy that it affected you all too. I thought I wouldn't get any response for this one...
posted by aacheson at 3:56 PM on July 10, 2004

Whoa! Sleator wrote Green Futures of Tycho? Instant respect.
posted by weston at 9:29 PM on July 10, 2004