[DRAFT] The Work of Mark Z. Danielewski

Danielewski describes his style as “signiconic”

I argue that the unifying theme of his work is an exploration of the expressive space of the physical book/page

for most books, the page is simply the conveyance for the material within; no information is lost when converting to ebooks or audiobooks

by contrast, House of Leaves, Only Revolutions, etc. would be impossible to convert effectively because the physical characteristics of the words (layout, color, typeface) are themselves core parts of the text

example: Only Revolutions is interested in cycles (i.e., revolutions), so circular characters (0, o, 8) are colorized, the book is read in both directions, and switching perspectives is accomplished by physically rotating the open book

example: House of Leaves uses fonts to identify each narrator; strange text block layouts to highlight specific emotions (Navidson's final descent into the house, Johnny's emotional deterioration); metatextual references to emphasize the strangeness/wrongness of events in the story (Liberty Belle having the manuscript before it was finished, Johnny's account of burning the manuscript appearing in the completed book, the brief chapter explaining the limited discussion of the house's effect on animals); and nested footnotes (and narratives!) to emulate the maze of Navidson's house

these elements are not cutesy flourishes to show that the works are Not Like Other Girls (TM) but rather core components of their respective texts; the only way to successfully convert them to ebooks would be to scan them, and even that would mean the loss of expression