A self-referencing title that references its self-reference

"The Age of Earthquakes" almost perfectly simulates the worst aspects of the internet, to the point that it can hardly be considered a book. I found the self-references that were scattered through the book interesting, as well as it's contradictory ideas. I appreciated the book's efforts in attempting to emulate the internet, but they ultimately damage its message.

The most glaring issue is that much of information on the internet is not validated, and the book blindly follows suit with general, nebulous statements that are never expanded upon. This is accentuated by the medium used itself: It's quite easy to find academic literature or even introductory material on the internet, but doing so in a book, especially one lacks page numbers, requires the reader to reference something outside of the book. Perhaps this is a statement on how the internet is limited because it can only reference itself, but the massive amounts of information that reside in the internet make this a moot point. Contradiction within the book is another issue, as defines the term of 'denarration': where one's life ceases to feel like a story. This is treated as having many significant implications, but the concept is abandoned after a few pages. The book as a whole is fragmented and lacking in any core narrative.

While I still don't have a solid grasp on the topic, the book seems to incorporate ideas from postmodern literature and philosophy. The fragmented and paradoxical text does away with any singular meaning that can be derived, and the mention of personal narratives could be analogous to the idea of a meta-narrative and local narratives. The book also borrows from the internet, which makes it a book simulating the internet referencing the internet.

(Words: 289)

Jaime Tellez
4B
Mrs.Hendricks