The chief literary mode that Holland uses in Navigatio is that of modernism. Many of the novel’s passages might call to mind James Joyce’s Ulysses or the poetry of e.e. cummings. Yet, such devices do not appear to be pursued solely for their literary value, but rather for the visual possibilities they offer. Indeed, much of Holland’s text appears to invite the reader to consider the page as a canvas that uses language as its medium; it is clear that the book is conceived as a collaborative dialogue between literary and visual text.

This visual element is most prominently represented in the exquisite watercolour illustrations by Junko Azukawa that encircle Holland’s narrative. These images, unmistakably drawn from the traditions of Japanese art, might be expected to produce a cultural dissonance in a novel about a sixth-century Celtic monk–mariner. Yet they act as a natural counterpoint to Holland’s own visually crafted language, and the diversity of these elements highlights the extent to which a modern literary text may be influenced by a range of cultural traditions. In this regard, Navigatio is able to exceed the sometimes mannered modernism of its literary text, and position itself more convincingly as a work of postmodern imagination.