VLVL/NPPF - on relating VN with TRP

[Bandwraith at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/9/03 12:49:53 PM, Erik.Burns at dowjones.com writes:

<< Foax:


Not to be overly Kinbotic about it, but  >>

I believe the term is "Kinbotean," unless you're purposively
aiming for an echo with "robotic," which reminds me of chess
somehow- many, but not an infinite number of variations- 
hence, able to be played successfully by machine.

One difference, it occurs to me, between VL and PF is the 
differing demands made by each upon the reader in order 
to achieve "readerly nirvana"- which shall go undefined, but
must be something like the "bliss beyond merely understanding."

PF, in that regard, is seemingly much more demanding. One
must agree to play the game according to a whole set of
rules- much like chess. If played seriously (that is not to
say the novel isn't funny), it can be dazzling- a mediocre
poem and an unreliable narrator somehow sum to an
over-arching masterpiece: two wrongs make a right. If not
played vigorously, though, it can seem contrived. The 
"hypertext" structure serves to underline the need to
adhere to the rules of the game. One can ignore them, of
course, much the way children will often use chess pieces 
for army men, but the deeper beauty of the novel is lost.

respectfully