October 30, 2006
MarkBernstein.org
 

Figurski

In the Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies (at the University of Maryland San Francisco), Jessica M. Laccetti reviews Richard Holeton's hypertext, Figurski at Findhorn on Acid.

Like many hypertext and web fiction narratives, the story evolves through glimpses of nodes and altering reading paths. A summary of the entire story is almost impossible, mainly because I am not sure if I have indeed found all the nodes, my reading paths will invariably differ from another reader's, and my piecing together of the experience will be personal and subjective (as with any reading experience one might argue)

Laccetti is not always sure what to make of hypertext.

Reading Figurski is not like reading Tristram Shandy or Pale Fire, and in my view it does not share the same wit as Monty Python.

Holeton's response is thoughtful and not a little self-critical.

This pair of essays is worthwhile. Laccetti does include a footnote that is spectacularly wrong-headed; I'll discuss that separately because it's irrelevant to the review.