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A review by erinbrenner
S. by J.J. Abrams, Doug Dorst
5.0
Take an interesting political story, add one part fantasy, two parts love, and several parts mystery, and you'll get S.
This was an intriguing book, and though written by Dorst, JJ Abrams' fingerprints are all over it. Like his TV show Lost, Abrams takes takes an average story and makes into something special by deconstructing it and reconnecting it in unexpected ways.
The power is in the mystery and the storytelling. And like Lost, the ending is anticlimactic because so much of the drama is in how the story is told rather than the story itself. That's not a bad thing, just a different thing. After all, there are no new stories in the world. Ancient Greeks like Aristotle recognized this, and so should we.
The story begins as soon as you take the book out of the slipcase (I recommend storing the book in the slipcase so the extras stay in the right place). The book you pull out is called Ship of Theseus by VM Straka, a fictional book written by a fictional author and published by a fictional press. The story itself is entertaining enough, but there are layers upon layers in Dorst's book.
The fictional book in your hands is a (fictional) translation by FX Caldeira (fictional). Caldeira's voice is heard not only in the introduction but in the footnotes throughout the book. The translator adds a layer of meaning to Straka's work and Straka himself, who is a mystery to fictional (and real) readers.
Then there are the margin notes. These are what really make the book. The book nominally belongs to Eric, a a former grad student, disgraced by a dishonest professor. He borrowed the book from his high school library and never gave it back. College senior Jennifer finds the book in the college library and sees some notes in the book. She writes her own notes and returns the book to its place. This starts a conversation between the two in the margins of the book, along with items they leave for each other in it (hence storing the book in its slipcase; you want to read these extras at the right place in the larger story). Eric and Jen want to figure out who the real Straka is and restore Eric's reputation. Along the way, their conversation becomes a lot more and they learn about growing up, love, danger (not everyone wants them to find out who Straka is), and much more.
It's a heady read, and Dorst is to be commended for writing such an interesting, complex work. I've just finished the book, and I'm ready to reread it because I know I missed things along the way. There's more to explore than one reading will allow.
Highly recommended.
This was an intriguing book, and though written by Dorst, JJ Abrams' fingerprints are all over it. Like his TV show Lost, Abrams takes takes an average story and makes into something special by deconstructing it and reconnecting it in unexpected ways.
The power is in the mystery and the storytelling. And like Lost, the ending is anticlimactic because so much of the drama is in how the story is told rather than the story itself. That's not a bad thing, just a different thing. After all, there are no new stories in the world. Ancient Greeks like Aristotle recognized this, and so should we.
The story begins as soon as you take the book out of the slipcase (I recommend storing the book in the slipcase so the extras stay in the right place). The book you pull out is called Ship of Theseus by VM Straka, a fictional book written by a fictional author and published by a fictional press. The story itself is entertaining enough, but there are layers upon layers in Dorst's book.
The fictional book in your hands is a (fictional) translation by FX Caldeira (fictional). Caldeira's voice is heard not only in the introduction but in the footnotes throughout the book. The translator adds a layer of meaning to Straka's work and Straka himself, who is a mystery to fictional (and real) readers.
Then there are the margin notes. These are what really make the book. The book nominally belongs to Eric, a a former grad student, disgraced by a dishonest professor. He borrowed the book from his high school library and never gave it back. College senior Jennifer finds the book in the college library and sees some notes in the book. She writes her own notes and returns the book to its place. This starts a conversation between the two in the margins of the book, along with items they leave for each other in it (hence storing the book in its slipcase; you want to read these extras at the right place in the larger story). Eric and Jen want to figure out who the real Straka is and restore Eric's reputation. Along the way, their conversation becomes a lot more and they learn about growing up, love, danger (not everyone wants them to find out who Straka is), and much more.
It's a heady read, and Dorst is to be commended for writing such an interesting, complex work. I've just finished the book, and I'm ready to reread it because I know I missed things along the way. There's more to explore than one reading will allow.
Highly recommended.