When a house is not a house

For the Navidson's, their house was a sort of new beginning; time away from modeling for Karen, the children could have a grounded home life with both parents present, and Tom, could see to all matters familial, for once and for all. When they returned form vacation, the change in the house triggered a change in them, or a return perhaps, to a place they were before the move; distance again separating the two partners as it had before. This time however, the distance lie behind a door that apparently appeared from nowhere, a dark void like that in the relationship between Karen and Tom.

What lies behind the door at this point is one thing: a secret. Is there a being behind the door, growling in the darkness? Will it eventually attack those who enter the dark space? Or is the space a metaphor for the darkness inside, the beast within, another biblical reference to join the many in the novel. Secrets are no stranger to the inhabitants of that house: Was Karen truly unfaithful? We witness a moment of weakness when a kiss is exchanged in the house while Tom is preoccupied. Is it true that Navidson is a closeted homosexual, as suggested in a footnote early in the novel? There is certainly no evidence of this accusation, but is an interesting angle none the less.

I wish I could decipher more about the hidden meaning behind the book. The truth is there's so much happening at once that it makes it difficult for me to narrow it all down. I'm hoping in the second half of the novel the secrets are revealed and there is some closure to such an open-ended piece of literature.