Narrative as Virtual Reality: Immersion and Interactivity in Literature and Electronic Media (review)

Virtual reality is an immersive, interactive experience generated by a computer—this is the definition that Marie-Laure Ryan says inspired the writing of Narrative as Virtual Reality: Immersion and Interactivity in Literature and Electronic Media, which is organized around three main tropes: virtuality, immersion, and interactivity. The first section, "Virtuality," begins by looking at the virtual as a philosophical concept; the second and third sections examine the two components of virtual reality as technology—immersion and interactivity respectively; and the fourth and final section, "Reconciling Immersion and Interactivity," concludes the text with what Ryan sees as the ultimate goal of art, the synthesis of immersion and interactivity.