And B:
The last novel I read by Matthias A. K. Zimmermann was KRYONIUM. Die Experimente der Erinnerung. IMITATHYOS. Das unendliche Alphabet seamlessly continues where its spiritual predecessor leaves off: in the research of the analogue and digital elements of creativity. Once again you feel transported into one of the detailed and playful »model worlds« of the media artist Zimmermann. Images that not only represent a content, but also make the process of their (digital) image production transparent, reflect and subversively remix. In the novel, this does not work with colours, shapes and references to media history, but through a game with the alphabet.
I could now introduce the basic narrative premise and the characters of the novel, but that would only spoil things unnecessarily and miss the point (besides, the blurb already does a good enough job). The book jumps back and forth between genres, narrative clichés and perspectives, never remaining predictable or straightforward. A common thread only emerges when you shift your gaze from the story to the material of the story. Characters, letters and alphabets are at the center of the novel, are both its theme and its condition. One could say with the media researcher Marshall McLuhan that in IMITATHYOS the medium is the message. Our alphabet shapes the causalities of the story – A is followed by B is followed by C – and defines the framework of what can be told. IMITATHYOS is a Gutenberg island. With fourth-wall breaks, typographic effects, ASCII art and metatextual references, the entire range of possibilities is explored. It’s worth reading the novel for that alone!
The fact that I nevertheless cannot give it the full score has to do with the tucan in the details. Experimental approaches are carried through with remarkable consistency, for example enumerations are always in alphabetical order, but over time this does become tiring to read. The novel was written over a period of ten years and the long, exploratory search is somewhat noticeable. It’s exciting, but you should know what you’re getting yourself into. In terms of content, I also noticed the rather clichéd depiction of serious illnesses, disability and suicide. Of course, it’s also a question of the narrative perspective, but I personally would have preferred a more sensitive representation. But that shouldn’t stop you from trying the experiment and uncovering the secret of Gutenberg Island!
IMITATHYOS. Das unendliche Alphabet
by Matthias A. K. Zimmermann
Novel, 300 pages
Edition Modellwelten / BoD GmbH, Norderstedt 2024
ISBN 978-3-8370-2444-9 (Hardcover)
ISBN 978-3-8370-6776-7 (Hardcover with high-quality features: thread binding, glossy print)
ISBN 978-3-7583-3623-2 (E-Book)
➡️ Reading sample
Blurb (German only):
Buchstaben, die Bausteine der Sprache, werden in diesem Roman zu Elementen, die Gefahren und Geheimnisse heraufbeschwören. Mina ist eine angehende Schriftstellerin aus Athen und gerät mit ihrer Schwester und deren Freund auf die künstlich geschaffene Insel Imitathyos – ein Utopia für exklusive Touristen. Doch ein unerwarteter Vorfall löst eine Kette bizarrer Ereignisse aus, und eine Rückkehr scheint unmöglich. In den Wirren dieser futuristischen Welt zunehmend verloren, müssen Mina und ihre Mitreisenden die rätselhafte Realität entschlüsseln, wenn sie von hier fortkommen wollen, bevor eine drohende Katastrophe sie für immer auf der Insel festhält. In dieser Odyssee entfaltet sich die Kraft der Buchstaben und zeigt, wie Worte die Wirklichkeit formen.