Uketsu’s Strange Pictures is real good. It’s one of those rare books that make you realize that a novel is a game, not just a bunch of text printed on a page. And the way that Uketsu reimagines their novel is with drawings and diagrams, making what might be a simple murder mystery thriller feel like you’re a detective rummaging through documents and timetables.
It reminds me of all the other novels that feel more like games. Like S by Doug Dorst and J.J. Abrams where the story is told in the margins of a very stuffy book. Or How to Be Both by Ali Smith where each book is split in two but each copy is printed in either order, so there’s no “true” order of reading (except mine). Or Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar where the novel—even though it didn’t work for me—can be read in multiple competing orders depending on your choice.
How much weird fun is left to be had with the format of a novel! The format of a book can be reimagined for new kinds of stories, and new kinds of games, over and over again.
Isn’t that exciting?