Oct 29, 20 abrams and written by awardwinning novelist doug dorst, is the chronicle of two readers finding each other in the margins of a book and enmeshing themselves in a deadly struggle between forces they dont understand. The ship of theseus volume looks old, the pages yellowed and. It had copious notes written in the margins and an assortment of paper mementos interspersed throughout the pages. When she brought s home from the library a couple of weeks ago i had a look. That is, there is the novel itself ship of theseus, which stands alone as its own story, and then there are the notes in the margins.
Straka a fictitious novel, with an equally fictitious. Abrams, one of the minds behind major film and tv franchises such as lost, cloverfield and the new star trek films. This book is ship of theseus, the 19th and final novel of an author called vm straka, which has been translated with copious footnotes by. It is composed of the novel ship of theseus by a fictional author, and handwritten notes filling the book s margins as a dialogue between two college students hoping to uncover the authors mysterious identity and the novels secret plus loose. As abrams said, he once found a book on a bench, with a note giving specific instructions to read and leave the book where someone else may find it, forming an ongoing chain of readership, composed of curious readers who. Written by doug dorst with input from film producer j. This means the book must have published on october 31, 1949. Ship of theseus by doug dorst and jj abrams, and was wondering how many more books out there have these unique designs that add a structural layer to the story. A young woman picks up a book left behind by a stranger. Oct 27, 20 jj abrams ship of theseus video take an exclusive first leaf through ship of theseus, a novelwithinanovel, conceived by jj abrams. Straka, a writer of 19 books whose real identity is unknown.
He turned to doug dorst to pen the story within a story. Dec 22, 20 earlier this month i wrote something about s. This book is very meta, by which i mean there are 3 levels of story. There are almost 24 other items inserted in the pages. The novel is unusual in its format, presented as a story within a story. I also wish to apologize for being absent for a week, i just got my internet back. Abrams and written by awardwinning novelist doug dorst. Nov 07, 20 from the moment you slit open the slipcasethe same slipcase that bears the only explicit admission of j.
Abrams and doug dorst, may be the bestlooking book ive ever seen. The slipcover contains what appears to be a battered, handsome library book titled ship of theseus, by an author named v. Ship of theseus alone is a 460odd page book that could best be described as a kafka pastiche in which the amnesiac lead undergoes a journeycumpolitical. The book contains ship of theseus, the final novel of the critically popular but mysterious author v. The chronicle of two readers finding each other, and their deadly struggle with forces beyond their understandingall within the margins of a book conceived by star wars. Early works the teseida probably begun in naples and finished in florence, 4041 is an ambitious epic of 12 cantos in ottava rima in which the wars of theseus serve as a background for the love of two friends, arcita and palemone, for the same woman, emilia. Abrams, a creator of tvs lost, and writer doug dorst, s. This adds another layer to your ability to comprehend the text. The publication date of ship of theseus is october, 1949 title page, and fxcs foreword was not written until sunday, october 30, 1949.
Such a book might include inserts or require readers to hunt for clues among pictures or to rotate the spine to keep reading. Strakas translator published the novel posthumously in 1949. Here, in ship of theseus, a character named stenfalk describes an old book that proves critical to amnesiac s. The authorship controversy is more popular than the actual novels. Dec 16, 20 the slipcover contains what appears to be a battered, handsome library book titled ship of theseus, by an author named v. Inside its slipcase is a novel titled ship of theseus, written by one v. Ship of theseus was presented as an old hardcover book. Abrams and novelist doug dorst, is a story within a story within a story. Straka 3 replies ship of theseus tells the story of s, a man with amnesia trying to discover his identity and becoming embroiled in a much larger plot along the way. It resembles 1940sera book design in both look and feel, complemented by a debossed cover, period typeface and the fact that a false texture was printed on artificial linen to give the presentation a realistic. Abrams, creator of lost, makes a case for spending the extra cash. Abrams isnt just a book its a mystery artifact, full of weird clues and strange documents. When she brought s home from the library a couple of weeks ago i had a look, examined the acompanying envelope full of notes, whiz wheels, maps, you name it. Abrams and written by awardwinning novelist doug dorst, is the chronicle of two readers finding each other in the margins of a.
Collecting books like house of leaves for their design. It resembles 1940sera book design in both look and feel, complemented by a debossed cover, period typeface and the fact that a false texture was printed. On p361, we discover that signe rabe was a real person, born 1141930 and later married to jean bernard desjardins on 1211952. Ergodic works dont spoonfeed readers the way typical books do. Caldeira, who wrote an introduction and the footnotes. The chronicle of two readers finding each other, and their deadly struggle with forces beyond their understanding all within the margins of a book conceived by star wars. Inside it are his margin notes, which reveal a reader entranced by the story and. It is also abrams and dorsts love letter to the written word. From the moment you slit open the slipcasethe same slipcase that bears the only explicit admission of j. The variance in supposed pencolor is just one of many little details that give the illusion of ship of theseus as a real, wellread.
Ship of theseus is, on its surface, the story of the amnesiac s, a man who arrives in the old quarter of a town identified only as b. Abrams himself, and written by doug dorst, is not just a mere story, its a literary experiment, showcased as a physical object. Then were on to the novel itself, a demented production that sweeps its amnesiac protagonist aboard a. It is composed of the novel ship of theseus by a fictional author, and handwritten notes filling the books. Nov 16, 2017 just finished a very unique novel called s. Ive alternated, but that gives me the worst of both worlds. Ship of theseus, the final novel by a prolific but enigmatic writer named v. The text of the novel ship of theseus is the work of mysterious author v. Ship of theseus is his last book he reportedly died in 1946, in havana, and some of the last chapter of this book was lost.
Nov 21, 2019 his final book, ship of theseus, followed a man with amnesia journeying to distant lands to discover his true identity and motivation. This experience has been cocreated by doug dorst, a novelist, and j. Other articles where the book of theseus is discussed. I am an avid collector of books with their design like house of leaves. Ship of theseus by vm straka aka s by jj abrams and doug. It is composed of the novel ship of theseus by a fictional author, and handwritten notes filling the books margins as a dialogue between two college students hoping to uncover the authors mysterious identity and the novels secret plus loose supplementary materials tucked in between pages.
Jj abrams ship of theseus video books the guardian. Then were on to the novel itself, a demented production that sweeps its amnesiac protagonist aboard a ghastly flying dutchman, in the. Nov 11, 20 this book feels so much like a house of leaves squeal, and i mean that in the best fucking way. Are you reading ship of theseus, then going back over the notes, or are you reading everything on the page before continuing. Oct 29, 20 a spread from the ebook of jj abrams and doug dorsts s. Nov 28, 20 a new literary project, eccentric and entrancing, by writer doug dorst and j. Straka, published in 1949, which is a story about an amnesiac, known only as s. Maybe youve been hearing about a book, s, by jj abrams and doug dorst. May 23, 2015 an intermediate guide to reading s by j. Straka a fictitious novel, with an equally fictitious writer. Abrams and written by awardwinning novelist doug dorst, is the chronicle of two readers finding each other in the margins of a book and enmeshing themselves in a deadly struggle between forces they dont understand. Decades later, two students at pollard state university meet by writing notes back and forth in a copy of ship of theseus left at the university. Abrams is a beautiful hardback carefully distressed to look like an old library book with its old book smell and stuffed full of notes, postcards, papers.
From the outside, it looks like an old library book, called ship of theseus. Inside a black slipcover stamped with the title, theres an old library edition of a novel titled ship of theseus, published in 1949 by. The title of this book is ship of theseus and it was written by doug dorst, j. A spread from the ebook of jj abrams and doug dorsts s. Jj abrams ship of theseus video take an exclusive first leaf through ship of theseus, a novelwithinanovel, conceived by jj abrams. If you have an apple device mac, ipad, iphone, there is an electronic version of the book. Abrams in october that turned out to be a novel written with doug dorst. Seasoned readers you probably already know everything here so if you want to go deeper, proceed directly to the intermediate guide to reading s. The core story is the book itself, ship of theseus by v. This post is intended as a short, spoilerfree introduction to new readers of s, a book authored by doug dorst and conceived by j. Straka, in which a man with no past is shanghaied onto a strange ship with a monstrous crew and launched onto a disorienting and perilous journey. Nov 10, 20 if ever a book had the wow factor, its this one. The first book that i fell in love with was in junior high school and it was the dead zone, and i remember being heartbroken by the love story of the book as much as i was creeped out. Ship of theseus is his last bookhe reportedly died in 1946, in havana, and some of the last chapter of this book was lost.
From the outside, it looks like an old library book, called ship of theseus and. Besides the authors names on the box, the entire package appeared to be. Ship of theseus, the final novel by a prolific but enigmatic writer named. This book feels so much like a house of leaves squeal, and i mean that in the best fucking way. More books are being published than ever before how can you possibly decide what to read. From the outside, it looks like an old library book, called ship of theseus and published. The main story is ship of theseus written by a writer no one knows the identity of who goes by v. The novel, written in a collaboration between film director j. Included in the very back of the book ship of theseus there is a code wheel that contains various letters of which you can only see five at a time and a wheel that lets you change which letters you see by choosing different geographical coordinates in latitude and.
1412 688 649 683 457 17 1084 1387 850 474 1214 476 1127 779 151 661 1198 973 991 334 306 170 1337 777 842 1468 242 215