Would Hemingway and Shakespeare have soared higher had their masterpieces been created by following readers' suggestions?

Ah . no.

It's probably not worth getting riled up about the latest news on the interactive reading front. But it's hard to resist the temptation.

An American digital publisher, Coliloquy, has launched an e-book series in which authors let readers have input on how their novels turn out. These books, essentially applications for Kindle e-readers, offer "choice points" allowing readers to make storyline suggestions. Authors, writing as they go along, then fashion narrative twists reflecting these suggestions.

Cutting-edge stuff, eh?

One of Coliloquy's titles is Getting Dumped by Tawna Fenske. The mystery-romance is about a woman named J.J. who's faced with a selection of "hot new co-workers." Readers help decide who J.J. ends up with.

Admittedly, the situation isn't quite the same as, oh, J.D. Salinger allowing readers to decide if Holden Caulfield ought to win American Idol and date Katy Perry. For starters, Salinger died two years ago. And in any case, Catcher in the Rye is bona fide literature. (I have a feeling Getting Dumped is about as high-brow as Hello! magazine's reportage on whether George and Brad's "bromance" will be adversely affected by their Oscar faceoff.)

If it's not literature - that is, a work of art - perhaps it matters little whether readers decide the outcome of a potboiler like Getting Dumped.

Or does it? Well, it does if the notion of "interactive" literature gains widespread traction.

One report on Coliloquy's new venture suggests such a collaborative relationship between writer and reader may well be "reading's future." Another journalist touts the creation of such novels as being more "democratic" (just reading that sentence made me want to gag). They offer not only "deeper engagement" for the reader, but "feedback to the publishers and authors, so they can better tune the product to their customers."

I think the way Coliloquy views the novel is a little scary. It suggests the role of the artist (in this case, the novelist) has diminished importance. The company's attitude toward literature reflects a societal notion that seems increasingly popular: The more people involved in any project, the better it turns out.

This is the curious thinking of the Internet age, which dictates that collected wisdom always reigns supreme. And there's some truth in it. Look at Wikipedia. By accessing the world's shared knowledge, we dip into a bottomless cornucopia of information. And some of it is even accurate.

Perhaps one can make a case for the world's population (or at least, that portion possessing computers) melding into one giant buzzing brain. The trouble is, with rare exceptions, mass collaboration rarely results in artistic endeavours of the highest quality.

Superior art typically comes from creative individuals with singular points of view. Take Kafka. It took idiosyncratic genius to hatch The Metamorphosis, a literary work in which the main character awakens to find himself transformed into a loathsome insect.

No doubt, the Coliloquy's reader panel would have advised Kafka to make the protagonist a lovely butterfly . or better yet, a winsome pool-boy with a striking physique. And reader panels would likely suggest the disillusioned expatriates in The Sun Also Rises booze and philander too much. And that Yossarian of Catch-22 fame is disrespectful to his military superiors - and thus totally unsupportive of our brave troops.

Lisa Rutherford, cofounder of Coliloquy, is quoted as saying: "It's a shame that, with the rise of digital fiction, innovation around the content has not kept up with innovations around delivery."

This is another fallacy of the Internet age. We believe computer technology is such a boon, any innovation must be embraced - especially if it encourages the hallowed "interactive" relationship between supplier and consumer.

Of course, the real intent behind Coliloquy's bold new novel series has little to do with redefining the writer/reader relationship. It's not about bold innovation; it's about flogging e-books. And the more people you please, the more you sell.

Team-player Fenske, the author of Getting Dumped, told a reporter: "I'm not really hung up on [the notion of] 'This is my art, this is how I need to tell my story.' "

It probably doesn't matter if she is. I just hope Coliloquy's practice of novels-by-committee doesn't become a widespread trend in the literary world.

achamberlain@timescolonist.com