I don’t know whether the books are still being published, but in primary school one of my favourite picture books was “The Rainbow Fish”. There was a series of the books, all featuring the Rainbow Fish as the main character. One of the books came to mind when reading this week’s first set text about hypertext as it relates to narrative.

I don’t remember the name of this particular book, but the interesting and unique thing about it was that the reader was able to choose the end of the story. The author had written two or more (I no longer remember the exact number) endings and, depending on the decisions that the Rainbow Fish made, the book would end in a different way. Therefore, when reading the book, us kids would choose what the Rainbow Fish would do in a certain situation and then follow that path of the book which would lead to a certain outcome, or end of the story.

While its a very primitive, basic example, I feel that this type of book replicates the nature of hypertext within narratives. Readers engage in “interactive narratives [and] can enjoy this newfound liberty to make choices and decide what deserves to become an “ending” to the [story].”

(Quote from Douglas, The End of Books – Or Books without End?, pg 36.)

RAINBOW FISH: THE ORIGINAL HYPERTEXT