.Compostmodernism: Textual Machinery Through Typography and Materiality in Mark Z. Danielewski’s The Familiar

Abstract

This article defines “.compostmodernism” as a successor to postmodernism by explicating of Mark Z. Danielewski’s The Familiar as an example of .compostmodern textual machinery—a system of two interconnected “machines” (one abstract, the other physical) that are co-dependent and mobilized by the novel’s typography and materiality. Beginning by illustrating how The Familiar exemplifies .compostmodern textual machinery through its experimental typography which becomes the visual manifestation of literary cyber-consciousness, this article indicates how, in visually manifesting character cyber-consciousness, the novel’s typography actualizes the digitality of character interiority, ultimately drawing attention to the work’s status not only as literary artifice, but also as textual machinery. The demands of such experimental typography instantiate a physical relationship between reader and codex that emphasizes the novel’s materiality and requires the reader to engage with the text both physically and digitally. Ultimately, this digital engagement incorporates the internet not only as a crucial supplement for the reader to seek reference, translation apps, and supplementary (albeit obscure) Danielewski publications, but also as a medium for the reader to supplement the novel via social media output and online reading communities.