>As a former professional indexer, I gotta say, that produces a crap
>index.
One of the best indexes I ever read was a short story in the form of an index without a corresponding text. It's by J.G. Ballard (of course):
http://www.ballardian.com/indexed-out-of-existence
[...]
The story’s conceit is that it is typeset like an index, apparently the only surviving fragment of HRH’s “unpublished and perhaps suppressed autobiography”, and all of the plot details above, plus much, much more, can be gleaned from the brief fragments in the index itself. It’s a format that allows for some humourous moments, as in this entry, in which we discover that Hitler impressed and then disappointed HRH within the space of two pages, an arc of disillusionment that reflects the greatest schism of the 20th century yet comically reduces it to just one line:
Hitler, Adolf, invites HRH to Berchtesgaden, 166; divulges Russia invasion plans, 172; impresses HRH, 179; disappoints HRH, 181
Eventually we come to learn that the story, despite the form of the piece, actually unfolds in a linear fashion from “A” (including Avignon, HRH’s birthplace) to “Z”. In the entries for “U”, “V” and “W”, for example, HRH’s downfall is revealed:
United Nations Assembly, seized by Perfect Light Movement, 695 – 9; HRH addresses, 696; HRH calls for world war against United States and USSR, 698 Versailles, Perfect Light Movement attempts to purchase, 621 Vogue (magazine), 356 Westminster Abbey, arrest of HRH by Special Branch, 704 Wight, Isle of, incarceration of HRH, 712 – 69 Windsor, House of, HRH challenges legitimacy of, 588
While the very last entry is revealed to be that of the indexer himself:
Zielinski, Bronislaw, suggests autobiography to HRH, 742; commissioned to prepare index, 748; warns of suppression threats, 752; disappears, 761
[....]