Reading the Graphic Surface

02 This book critically engages with the visual appearance of prose fiction where it is manipulated by authors, from alterations in typography to the deconstruction of the physical form of the book. It reappraises the range of effects it is possible to create through the use of graphic devices and explores why literary criticism has dismissed such features as either unreadable experimental gimmicks or, more recently, as examples of the worst kind of postmodern decadence. Through the examination of problematical texts which utilize the graphic surface in innovative and unusual ways, including Samuel Becketts Watt, B.S. Johnsons Albert Angelo, Christine Brooke-Roses Thru and Alasdair Grays Lanark, this book demonstrates that an awareness of the graphic surface can make significant contributions to interpretation.