from Verses Nature, forthcoming

You’re reading a novel, you flip the page, then: this. What happens next? How do you read this? Do you read or do you view (as you would a poster, perhaps)? Do you zoom in on the larger fonts, go straight for the centre, maybe, or zig-zag your way through the text? Do you ignore a slight feeling of disorientation and read from top-left to bottom-right, the way you were taught to? Does a ‘text’ like this even belong in a novel?

When we enter a text, it is impossible to do so unstained, uncomplicated by (our) history. We come to it with a set of expectations on the basis of which we will form judgements relating to form, content –  to the text’s success. The title of my new novel, Verses Nature, has been chosen with care. Be ready for a new experience. Be ready to throw some of your assumptions overboard. As my protagonist says: ‘if you want to grow, you have to give up something(s). Always.’