Abstract/Summary

This research examines the physical dimension of the unconventional novel, and the influence of book layout and design, on particular reading experiences. Through an analysis of design strategies used in examples that foreground their material dimension, this thesis considers how book design is integrated into the narrative to turn reading into an embodied experience, and what materiality offers to the act of reading in the digital era. Understanding the lineage is essential to help comprehend the evolution of this type of unconventional novel and thus, the thesis is organised in chronological order: from the pre-digital to the digital era. For this reason, the presence of materiality in pre-digital novels and the material form of significant works of literature is studied. As a counterpoint, this research examines the status of the printed novel in the digital era, studying the transformations that appeared in the twentieth century through changes in media. In particular, it looks at hypertextual examples in print that have influenced unconventional novels in the twenty-first century, and which indicate that the adoption of new media communication practices is a significant element for the evolution of new forms, which might be derived from unconventional precedents. The research approach examines the presence of materiality through the analysis of book layout and design in three case study novels. By using photographs, diagrams, and motion image to study the material dimension of Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of leaves (2000), Jonathan Safran Foer’s Tree of codes (2010) and J. J. Abrams’ S. (2013), this thesis reveals that key unconventional novels in the twenty-first century have remained ‘print-specific’. By foregrounding the physical dimension of the reading experience these examples challenge the fluidity of conventional narratives brought about by digital hybrid practices. This examination draws attention to a design process embedded in the authorial process and the construction of both materiality and narrative. Findings make evident that unconventional novels in the digital era can be a product of a ‘designwriting’ process, and point to a renewed collaboration, between authors and designers, in which design is acknowledged as an integral part of the process where writing means also designing. This thesis contributes to the analysis and exploration of the materiality and physical experience in unconventional novels, and also foregrounds the importance of physical reading in the age of digital media.