Ship of Theseus

Got this for someone as a Christmas gift. The had never heard of it, but loved the idea right away. The package is great, exciting to just to look at. I followed up and they are still going through the book, and loving every minute of it.

This is a bit of a hard read. Found myself getting distracted by all the notes on the side when it was my intention to read the story first then go back and read the notes........actually not been able to finish it - however I love the concept.

PHENOMENAL. I love it for the story (stories) and just how gorgeous the whole thing is. The many colors of pen used by the characters, the objects inserted in the book, etc, all make this a piece of art along with being an incredibly interesting story.

I have never reviewed a book before--although I totally appreciate those who do--but I felt like S needed to be my first review.

When I held S in my hands for the first time, I felt like I was holding something special. A treasure. I hadn't been that excited to read any book in a very, very long time. Maybe ever. And I instantly compiled a mental list of those who would be receiving a copy for Christmas. I wanted them to feel what I was feeling.

Once I opened the book, I was a bit overwhelmed. Where to begin? Fortunately I found C. Childs' review and I followed Childs' reading suggestions. THANK YOU!

The concept of this book is absolutely brilliant. The physical book is stunning--incredibly authentic. The story, however, was a complete let down. Huge gaps, incredibly repetitive, lacking true connection between the characters, and symbolism that was less impressive than intended to be. I found myself completely indifferent to who VMS was. And I couldn't even get behind Jen and Eric's danger or budding relationship as their story lines jumped all over the place and never really built up consistent momentum. I give this book 3 stars for the sheer ingenuity of it. And while it took a true commitment of time to read, I certainly don't regret having done so. It really was a literary experience. Still, I was so incredibly disappointed when the book ended. I felt cheated somehow.

Fortunately, I didn't let my enthusiasm get the better of me causing me to order multiple copies before finishing the book. S will not be on my Christmas gift-giving list after all. I deeply regret that. I wanted S to be so much more than it was for me.

I read a small write up the day the book came out on a random blog about technology. I heard the concept for the book? Bought it sight unseen moments later. I knew it'd be a great interesting book for my Girlfriend, but I had no clue how badly I'd want her to finish it so I could take a hold of it.

Take it out of the sleeve, break the seal, and the old book looks authentic. It's wonderful. Open the pages to find beautifully hand-written notes, stuffed artifacts, and a whole host of amazing material. It's like nothing else I've seen, and I believe it's worth every penny.

I don't care JJ did it, In fact it was nearly a turn-off because I didn't want the greatness of the concept to be shadowed by a celebrity name/ We'll see.

Okay. I was expecting something unusual when I ordered this, but this book has completely blown my mind and exceeded my expectations. First of all, it is so BEAUTIFUL. I can't stop paging through it! It's hard not to flip ahead and try to see what happens. I am completely engrossed! I wish more people had this kind of imagination -- it's so great to see something so different and playful. Thank you, Doug and J.J....and sorry, everyone else, I will be unavailable for the next week or so!

Great story, and look forward to reading more by the author.

However, I am very disapointed the store is selling books in such poor condition. Clearly this was bought at a library book sale and re-sold. That's fine if I'm buying it from the Marketplace area or from a used-book dealer, but this was marked as New, which it is not.

There are notes and other detritus such as postcards, photos, etc. stuck into the book. From the other reviews, it seems like mine was not the only one sold in such poor condition. Should be added to product description.

I’ve always resisted the temptation to post a less-than-positive review for a book I didn’t care for (“de gustibus” and all) but I wanted to add a little more counterbalance to the overwhelming praise for this one. I’m not averse to challenging fiction – e.g. I’ve read “Infinite Jest” and “House of Leaves” each twice and am a huge Pynchon fan – but “S” left me cold. After struggling with every page of text-and-margin-notes, I stopped reading the notes at around page 150 and plowed through the rest of “Ship of Theseus” (which I did find intriguing). Then I went back and tackled the notes again: first the blue/black set straight through, then the orange/green set to about halfway, at which point I threw up my hands in total apathy. I just didn’t care what these two people had to say to one another or what the underlying mystery was (or, for that matter, whether I was supposed to use the decoder ring). Jen and Eric’s angst over Straka, Moody, et al. reminded me of why I had no desire to steer my BA in English toward an academic career and of why I consider lit crit to be a waste of good trees – so if “S” is meant to be some sort of parody of lit crit, I didn’t get the joke. I was also a bit incredulous about a process of passing annotations back and forth that surely must have taken much more time than the reader is supposed to stop and think about. I don’t mean to denigrate the enjoyment others have gotten from this book – it’s very cleverly conceived and well executed – but unless you get off on academic gamesmanship it can be a challenge to one’s patience and interest.

The concept of this book is quite interesting and I thought I would enjoy the process. However, it was a chore to read and I do not recommend it except perhaps to the extreme literary fanatic with nothing else to do. I read this along with my small book club, and none of us enjoyed it.

This is more than a book, it is an experience. I finished the first chapter, and if it wasn't late i'd keep going! Every page I am amazed at the quality that is in this book, not just the writing, but the details, I don't want to give anything away. Grab it! You wont be disappointed!

I haven't read this yet but I did buy it as a Christmas book for my sister. She won't stop raving about it! Can't personally vouch for the content, but the concept is amazing and my sister is really enjoying it.

S., as written by Doug Dorst from an original idea by J.J. Abrams, is an incredibly immersive reading experience. It's produced to resemble an old library book, complete with handwritten notes in the novel's margins, and the physicality of that product makes it easy to imagine that you've stumbled across an actual copy of Ship of Theseus (the book within the book) yourself. As we learn from the marginalia, Ship of Theseus is the final novel by mysterious author V. M. Straka, whose true identity has never been revealed but who is rumored to have been part of a clandestine organization of freedom fighters whose secrets may be hidden within the pages of that very novel. The margin notes are presented as coming from two readers who have passed this copy of Ship of Theseus back and forth, leaving messages for one another as they attempt to uncover the truth behind Straka and related mysteries.

It's a tough book to read, especially since the margin notes are not in chronological writing order and thus present an immediate challenge of approach. (The readers switch pen colors several times, which helps to date their comments, but even within a color scheme, they leave notes scattered backwards and forwards throughout the text of Ship of Theseus, generally near a passage that relates to or resonates with their latest message.) I opted to embrace the physical aspect of the book and read all the marginalia as they appeared, calling on my Doctor Who experience to try and keep the timeline relatively straight in my head, but I know other readers will recommend reading through the entire text of Ship of Theseus, then the notes in pencil, then the notes in black and blue ink, and so on. Dorst and Abrams have left such decisions in the hands of their readers, which is admittedly somewhat frustrating but ultimately adds to S.'s strange appeal as a faux found object with no guidebook.

Of course, all of this stylistic experimentation would be nothing without a solid story behind it, but S. by and large delivers on that front as well. The novel Ship of Theseus tells of an amnesiac man caught up in a struggle against a powerful arms dealer -- which may or may not be a fictionalized version of events from author Straka's own life -- and it's told in a rich magic realist prose that calls to mind the "Tales of the Black Freighter" comic-within-a-comic from Watchmen. The two readers communicating in the margins of the novel are a college senior and a graduate student, each going through something of a personal crisis as they delve deeper into the mysteries surrounding Straka and get to know one another better through their notes. Both their story and the Ship of Theseus novel contain some profound reflections on the nature of identity and how people and organizations change over time, leaving behind earlier aspects while still on some level retaining continuity.

I think S. as a whole is probably something you'll either love or hate. There's certainly an argument that the presentation is a gimmick, and it's a little like A Series of Unfortunate Events in that the mysteries driving the plot are not all resolved neatly by the end. Nevertheless, I absolutely loved getting lost in this world and feeling like I was reading the book that those students had just set down somewhere. I'm sure this kind of thing will not be to everyone's tastes, but it was perfect for me.

This book was basically unreadable for me. Having to read all the writing in the margins then go back to the story made it impossible to enjoy. I have given it to my 30 something daughter in law and will up date on whether she enjoyed it.

Abrams is obviously a very bright guy, but his greatest talent lies in discerning & maximizing the commercial appeal of his products, not developing their artistic merit. For those readers who claim S is "original," that says more about the dearth of their literary experience than about this book. In form, it is a total knock-off of Danielewski, but with much narrower & more pedestrian themes. In substance, the "main" story is boring and can be skipped entirely (as I learned to my chagrin after plodding through it), and the multi-colored notes in the margins are kinda cute, but ultimately come down to 2 lonely literary nerds falling in love, or one of the tritest cliches ever. Mildly diverting for a rainy afternoon, but literature its not.

If you like lost you'll like this book.

In my opinion, this book was god awful. A writer should never deliberately confuse the reader, I felt I cared little for any of the main characters, especially the potential "Straka". It's a pointless love story.

If the author leaves so much up to interpretation I don't see the point in reading this garbage- just have a daydream and that's the exact same!

It's condescending, the main character sounds nothing like a grad student the undergrad is annoying and every other character doesn't care about any questions about the story so why should you, the reader? Why even bother to read this??

I don't care about the money, wish I could have my 2 weeks back I spent reading this absolute awful nonsense!

I wanted so much to like this book, as I loved the idea and concept behind it. But remove the kitschy veils of packaging, cute curiosities and mundane marginalia all that's left is a half-baked plot, stilted writing, flat characters, and a pretty dull, senseless story. After glancing over a hundred or so 5-star the store reviews raving about this "amazing book" I dove right in. I spent a week plowing through Ship of Theseus and the footnotes, then another week reading and re-reading the marginal story of Jen & Eric. I kept fooling around with the "codes" because I had this empty feeling afterwards that I must have missed something. Finally, I realized I was wasting my time and that this was it -- the whole point of the book was to leave the reader confused and empty, craving significance and meaning that wasn't integral to the story(ies) at all! Joke was on me, as I felt like my money had been taken by a carnival barker and that the "wild & wooly" roller coaster ride I was promised turned out to be nothing more than an endless hamster wheel with lots of colorful pinwheels and loud fireworks to distract the rider from the monotony of the actual ride itself. Rip-off! A better comparison would be to the cheesy Winchester Mystery House where door leads to door leads to door to passageway to empty, purposeless room. So I scanned back over a few hundred the store and Goodreads reviews and had to laugh at myself, for I'd willfully blinded myself to the fact that 90% or more of the 5-star reviews were all about the "wonderful packaging" and "cool concept," saying nothing at all about the writing itself. Many of these overly excited reviewers, by their own stupid admission, hadn't even read or finished the book yet! Oh well, joke's on me I guess.

I give Abrams and Dorst credit for the desire and attempt to create something elaborate and compelling, if not literary, but if literature really was their true goal, then they failed here. But if their goal was to seduce a gullible generation of TV & Internet junkies with short attention spans and superficial tastes into buying something that looks and feels like a real book, while getting lots of attention and money in the process, I guess they succeeded. Good for the publishers, and hopefully they'll give lesser known writers a chance now to actually put out some worthwhile stories where all these gimmicks might actually produce something meaningful AND entertaining. I wouldn't be shocked if Abrams' intent with this was to launch a sequel or some new TV series. Whatever, I don't really care actually. Not to rain on the parade of those who really enjoyed this book and the adventure of reading it -- it was fun while it lasted -- but for this book reader, the story of S, Jen & Erik, & Ship of Theseus meandered and was ultimately a let down for me, that's all.

If you're looking fpr the real deal I've read somewhere that Nabakov's Pale Fire was a big inspiration for this kind of story. I'm just about to start Lolita, and get into some his short stories now. Also, "Ship of Theseus" is a theory originally discussed by Thomas Hobbes, so look him up (and read Leviathan while you're at it -- not THAT is food for thought). Anyway, I'm steering clear of film directors playing author for a while.

9 weeks and 20 cents in late fines later I’ve finally finished this!! I’m happy I finished- but honestly, I’m not sure this was worth the effort it took to read.

First, I love the concept of this book. It comes with 23 clues tucked into the pages of the book: maps drawn on napkins, old photographs, letters, etc. I loved the notes in the margins, the story outside the story.

But oh man, was Ship of Theseus mostly a drag. And in the end: I really have no idea what happened. The problem is- this is a book so obsessed with putting codes and allegories and metaphors into the text to make some sort of grand mystery- that the story itself is vague, confusing, and unclear. I will add the caveat that I think I probably read the book wrong. From what I understand, you are supposed to read Ship of Theseus first, then go back and read the notes in the margins, in their color coded order. But this is a four hundred page book and the margin notes bleed into the text. How in the world am I supposed to just ignore yellow and green and purple ink cluttering up the page? How am I supposed to remember every little detail of the book the margin notes are connected to? Though I loved the format- and think it would work in a book that wasn’t so boring, I don’t think it worked for this.

So - Ship of Theseus- we have an amnesiac man who gets kidnapped by a bunch of weird sailors and sucked into a grand conspiracy. The amnesiac only goes by S. and his motivations are pretty flimsy. I really just didn’t like this story at all. Nothing made any sense. It was like a bad acid trip, for both the reader, and for poor S.

Now the margin notes- I really did enjoy. It starts like this: Eric leaves his book in the library, and Jenny picks it up and reads it, and his notes, and decides to write responses to his notes as well as make her own. They are trying to determine who V.M. Straka (author of Ship of Theseus) really is. Nobody knows for sure and he is rumored to be many people. I loved Jenny and Eric’s energy back and forth, I loved seeing their relationship develop. I loved the way they unraveled the clues. It was a different experience and it made me feel like part of the book.

***MAJOR SPOILERS***

But they reach literally no conclusion. I can’t even tell you who they think Straka was. I even googled it when I finished and found nothing. They are trying to get a book with their theories published, but the lady they want to publish them says: “I can’t publish what you have no proof of.” I *think* they thought: either Vaclav, the young guy who died at 19 lived on in Secret and became Straka, OR Straka was actually many writers collaborating together. My own personal theory leans toward the collaborative, but I think their’s leans toward Vaclav.

You can't write a mystery book that takes this much effort to read and not solve the mystery.

Nothing about the people chasing Jenny ever reaches any conclusion either. I think Eric and Jenny just run away from it all... but like- who were the people chasing her and what did they want? Were they S? Or new S? It seemed like those parts were just thrown in there to up the ante and since they didn’t know how to resolve it- the authors said, screw it, we’ll just have them skip the country. Problem solved!

***END SPOILERS***

The clues are very hard to decipher alone. There are a lots of names and times and places and it felt like I would need my own margin notes to keep them all straight. Even better they all have a counterpart character in the book, so not only did you need to remember their names, but also their book identities.

Normally- this is a thing I’d give a re-read to when I had more time, but I think I am done with J.J. Abrams. I don’t think he’s ever created a single thing where the ending wasn’t a COMPLETE disappointment. And it sucks because he has a brilliant, and truly creative mind, but he sucks at endings.

A different kind of reading experience to be sure!
I owned this book for quite a while before finally diving in. I was intimidated by it as I've noticed others were. Where do you start? How do you read it? Will I know what the heck is going on?
Here's how I read it: I would read the text of a page, then go back and read the "handwritten" notes of each page. It made it take a while to get through the book, but that wasn't a problem. Better than going through the whole thing twice. Besides, it is meant to be read, both bits of text, at once. Reading the notes changes how you perceive the story.
The story is very interesting, if a little overtly symbolic and therefore, at times hard to understand. Part Homer's Odyssey, part George Orwell, it alone is an fun read. Then there's the addition of the story of Jen and Eric. It takes a little getting used to, to tell what color of pen comes from what part of THEIR timeline, but once you get the hang of it, it's not too hard to follow.
I'm amazed at the amount of work it took to write these notes and come up with a coherent side-story that meshes so well with the main story. And then on top of that, the challenge of printing this book. Every page is essentially a work of art. The efforts taken to make "Ship of Theseus" look like a book from the 1940's, then to establish both Eric and Jen's handwriting and give personality and character to their handwritten words. Pretty impressive. Then there's the inserts! Newspaper clippings that are printed on actual newspaper, a map drawn in pen ink on a restaurant napkin, letters, postcards, xeroxed copies. They really add to the realism of the experience.
Conclusion: This book was a fascinating reading experience. I really enjoyed the immersiveness provided by the presentation, the printing, the inserts. Both sides of the story were fun. I enjoyed it a lot. My only complaint is that I wished there had been a letter inserted at the very end kind of summing up Eric and Jen's findings about the S/New S. So much is left unanswered, though I know that's kind of the point.
Give this book a try, but be prepared to dedicate some time and thought to it.
P.S. There are some "F-words" in Eric and Jen's notes. Just be aware if such things are offensive to you.

First of all..when you buy this book(or get it from the library as I did) you will notice that there are multiple inserts such as letters, postcards, and photographs. Leave them where they are or take them out and make list of what pages they belong between. There is also a code wheel in a sleeve in the back, the use of which, I was not able to determine on my first read through.

This is a great book because it has so many layers. The format is unusual. You have the book, The Ship of Thesus, and then you have the written correspondence in the margins between Jen and Eric. I read the book page by page, reading first the text of the story, then the margin notes. The book itself is vastly interesting with many elements that were utterly surreal and even horrific. The mysterious author of the book is the subject of most of the margin notes and even the forward of the book itself. It is one of the layers of mystery that this book contains. If you enjoy puzzles, ciphers and codes then this book is a goldmine for you. My only regret is that I got this from the library and only had time to read this once through. I will be buying this to spend more time on.

The margin notes contain many clues and things that the reader should pay attention to. If there is a reference to a website....Google is your friend. I know that I only found a quarter of the secrets during this read and will be purchasing this to delve even deeper into it. However, if you are more into reading than a more interactive experience, this works well even if you choose to not explore further online.

The only thing that bugs me is that I do not know how to use the code wheel but I will figure it out!

(Original review appears in Pantheon Magazine at http://pantheonmag.com/s-by-j-j-abrams-doug-dorst/)

Stop me if you recognize the following plot elements, perhaps from a popular television show of not-so-long-ago: a multi-level mystery, cryptic islands, strange markings that crop up everywhere, repeating numbers, a persistent undertow of whispers, vaguely familiar characters with questionable motives, malleable timelines, red-herring clues, conspiracies that cross time and generations, lethal black substances…

Well, I could go on.

Written by novelist Doug Dorst, as envisioned by filmmaker J.J. Abrams, ‘S’ is as much a descent down the proverbial rabbit hole as it is a novel. A mind-fuck, wrapped in a library book, inside a slipcase—literally. The actual physical book within the slipcase entitled ‘S’ is called Ship of Theseus, the title of which refers to a philosophical paradox that posits the following scenario: If a ship had every plank, mast, sail, window, and nail completely replaced with exact physical replicas, is it still the same ship afterwards, or an entirely different vessel despite being identical to its predecessor?

And this is just where the confusion begins, though this isn’t to say that with the mounting perplexity one experiences in trying to connect names and identities and scenarios across nearly five-hundred pages of vaguely shifting time lines and places, this process couldn’t also be rather enjoyable. After all, Abrams does have a knack for intriguing premises that, though don’t always cross the finish line with their heads intact, at least offer some heart and soul along the way.

Essentially three stories run through ‘S’, the first being the main narrative of the novel itself. Ship of Theseus, as written by an enigmatic author of eighteen previous novels named V.M. Straka, revolves around an equally mysterious man known only as ‘S’, who finds himself wandering a strange city at night with no memory of who he is or why he’s there, and who is soon abducted onto a mysterious ship without a name run by a crew of near-automaton bedraggles with sewn-shut mouths. He eventually escapes, only to find himself caught up within a resistance fighting a rising cabal bent on amassing and selling weapons for some inexorable conflict. Through the course of the story, ‘S’ goes from abductee, to criminal suspect, to resistant fighter, to assassin, all the while pursuing a mysterious woman with dark hair whilst struggling to rediscover his own forgotten identity.

And if that isn’t puzzling enough, a grungy little monkey is thrown into the mix to, well, why not?

Bolstering this main narrative—or further stirring it from any semblance of cohesion—are the chapter footnotes which follow the observations and research of one F.X. Caldeira, Straka’s translator from Czech to English. Along with augmenting chapter information, Caldeira also seeks to piece together the obscurity of the author whom he has only met briefly before disappearing under dubious circumstances, leaving the manuscript of Ship of Theseus finished save for the final tenth chapter which Caldeira undertook personally.

Calderia is as much a cipher as is the character of ‘S’ in the Ship of Theseus story, one whose identity and rhetorical prowess is often questioned and even refuted by the third “story” element of ‘S’.

Comprised exclusively of inserted ephemera and riddled with margin notes written by hand in different color inks, it is the segment of the whole of ‘S’ that gives the book its singularity, and which raises it above a muddled, albeit decently paced at times mystery. These are provided by a former university grad student named Eric Husch, and current student, Jen Heyward, who one day while researching the mystery of Straka, discovers an already notated copy of Ship of Theseus in the library. Deciding that the person using the book clearly needs it for ongoing research, Jen returns it to the shelf, but not without adding a note of her own, thus initiating a back-and-forth correspondence that runs for months.

Their memos begin innocently enough as they attempt to piece together the mystery of Straka’s disappearance, and of whether or not he was merely the penname for anyone of numerous contemporaries. But Eric and Jen soon find themselves under surveillance, both by rivals at the university as well as shadowy factions surrounding their investigation, though it’s never clear if the latter is a genuine threat, or just a figment of their collective imagination.

They also, not too surprisingly, start to gradually fall in love.

The problems with the book are several, though none are crippling, the primary one being that it hews, perhaps inescapably so, too closely to Abrams’ Lost. ‘S’ clothes itself as a genre mystery story without actually really solving anything. The characters in the Ship of Theseus don’t rise far above archetypes, and are only marginally developed in order to propel the plot forward.

Dorst’s prose is stilted and baroque, though that’s likely a deliberate choice to imbue the work with period verisimilitude (Ship of Theseus was “published” in 1949). It does cheat this rather cleverly by having Eric and Jen sometimes point out the heavy-handed and even formulaic nature of the prose, as well as embellishments and lapses of consistency. They’re as much critic to Straka as to Caldeira, an example of ‘S’s’ meta nature calling attention to itself, sometimes to its own detriment.

When the journey works however, it does so with a Saturday morning serial’s compulsion. The early to middle chapters where the character of ‘S’ is on the run move at a healthy page-turning pace, and little by little, as clues are revealed to him about his identity and purpose, the same is happening to Eric and Jen. And while not all connecting strands are obvious or even understandable without a floor-to-ceiling flowchart to accompany you, Dorst does a decent enough job of keeping the true emotional arc centered between the students. You do end up caring about Eric and Jen at the end. The aches and existential quandaries the characters often coldly reflect upon within Ship of Theseus mirror the students’ own rawer experiences as they search for meaning and purpose to their own lives.

In one of her more intimate notes to the more analytical Eric, Jen states: “Maybe you don’t solve the big mystery, but you find smaller truths. That’s not a bad thing, is it? More time to just be with the books, yourself, someone else…” This is later echoed, though more ironically, by the character ‘S’, who says at one point: “It’s safer, isn’t it, to be a glass-smooth surface of ignorance? To offer no purchase to those who seek it?”

But when it comes down to it, the physical book itself is the most engaging aspect of ‘S’. Crafted to look like an old library book, it’s replete with lending stamps and dates. The pages are foxed and stained to look aged, and even the repeated printing process has imbued it with a vague ammonia smell evocative of old acidic paper.

The Eric and Jen margin notes are printed into the book beautifully. Pencil looks like pencil. Inks are often in different colors and either in pen or marker, sometimes jumpy and jagged, sometimes faded from overuse or pressure inconsistencies, suggesting repeated usage and a passage of time.

The inserted ephemera is just as fun, albeit adding more often to the confusion than abating it. Consisting of letters, postcards, maps, scraps, and photos, this move has proven something of a controversial decision by the publishers. Numerous libraries have already reported an inability to keep the book in stock for consistent check-out as they’re being returned often with either inserts replaced between the wrong pages, or missing altogether.

It should be noted that the book pretty much works as a stand-alone read without the inserts, but having them adds an extra dimension of distracting fun. Think the smoke monster, the hatch, the polar bear, the two bodies found in a cave, and you get the picture of their intriguing, yet ultimately whimsical nature.

Dorst and Abrams are clearly in love not only with the art of storytelling, but with the physical art of books themselves, and this facsimile clearly echoes the essence of the Ship of Theseus, both as thought puzzle and novel-within-a-novel: is something crafted in the modern day to look exactly like something that’s generations old any less real than an actual artifact from that very time long past? A question for each of us to answer via our own constructs.

Though flawed and far from perfect, ‘S’ ultimately ends up as a quintessential journey book, about the universal struggle of identity, with a love of the written word at its heart. The amorphous character of ‘S’ captures this essence towards the end: “Story is a fragile and ephemeral thing on its own, a thing that is easily effaced or disappeared or destroyed, and it is worth preserving. And if it can’t be preserved, then it should be released and cycled.”

This book was less like a novel and more like experiencing a piece of art. The concept is so unique and it is executed brilliantly. The Ship of Theseus is the basis for the other parts of the story. It is a strange book to read on its own though. While I enjoyed The Ship of Theseus, it was a means to an end for me. During certain parts I was very invested in the characters, but at other points I was frustrated the book seemed to be moving in circles.

I enjoyed reading the margin notes much more. While I was reading this section I was transported and totally wrapped up in the characters, Jennifer and Eric have such a great dynamic and they were my favorite part of this. Their story came alive in the margins of this book. This book gave me a serious book hangover and I was thinking about it long after I finished my many read throughs.

Speaking of which, be prepared to read through this book several times. Even though you may not read every word on every page during each read though, I made my way though the book many times in order to read all the different parts. I'll be posting a reading guide for this, but the different colors of margin notes indicate different points in time. It makes more sense to read all the margin notes of one color before reading the notes of another color.

Because we are not reading from anyone's point of view, I was confused at certain point during Eric and Jennifer's exchanges in the margins. They write about different events you don't have a reference for. I could piece things together especially with help from the inserts but it interrupted my reading experience several times.

There are so many threads in this book and even after reading through the book six times, I don't think I picked up all the details. As the synopsis mentioned, there are three different storylines and I would suggest taking notes. I started to feel like the theories and speculation was out of control so I began keeping a list of character. Once I started taking notes to keep track of everyone, I enjoyed myself even more.

Please let me know if you've read this and if you enjoyed it. I don't know anyone who has read it and would love to discuss what you thought of the mystery in the story.

I separate this review into two halves: One for the main story, The Ship of Theseus, and one for the story in the margins between Jen and Eric.

As for the Ship of Theseus (SoT), I give this book 4 - 4.5 stars. The writing was beautiful and very poetic. It was equally intriguing and mysterious and wrapped in a fantasy. I love creative writing such as stories like this and Dorst did an excellent job.

My main criticisms for the story however are the ending falls a bit flat. One would expect a bigger conclusion with all of the excellent action and buildup in the previous chapters. But then again, I know the idea is that the authorship of SoT is in question between Straka and his copywriter so maybe that was why the ending was a bit different? Was the whole "switching writing styles" the reason for the ending? I'm not sure, but I didn't like it.

Additionally, I didn't exactly care for how so many of the mysteries in SoT were left unanswered. Sure, some mystery unanswered is great and makes the imagination wonder, but too much felt frustrating as a reader. For example, I felt bad for the S. character because the poor guy seemingly couldn't get a straight answer from anybody in any situation. But then again, this does add to the charm and mystique of the story.

As for the Margins Story between Jen and Eric: I didn't care for it much at all. I give it 2 stars maximum. The concept is clever and the inserts between the two are of course great and a big selling point for the book overall. But I was really frustrated that their story often left huge, gaping holes in areas and ultimately felt unfinished. Examples? Agents/Detectives were apparently terrorizing Jen, shadowing her, breaking in to her apartment, setting her parents barn on fire, etc. And then they leave those teases unanswered! Another is towards the end when apparently Jen and Eric use Filomela's map from SoT. They play around with that storyline but then leave it all unanswered. What happened with their adventure? What came of it? Was there something I missed? There are numerous examples like this between the two that just felt like were not going anywhere. The whole Margin Story really seemed in many ways pointless.

In short, this book is... a bit crazy. But it's also captivating. The book itself comes in a lovely slipcase cover and is designed to look like an old used library book.

I will try to explain the very basic premise of the story to the best of my abilities, but bear with me. The general plot is that there is a young woman--a soon-to-graduate college senior--who stumbles upon a book called Ship of Theseus one day in her college library, and in it she also finds notes in the margins from a grad student who is studying the book. The fictional author of Ship of Theseus is V.M. Straka, an incredibly secretive and mysterious author whose identity is unknown. The two soon begin writing notes back and forth in the margins, notes that are at first fairly simple and conventional, but eventually the two begin to unearth and develop deeper theories and conspiracies that surround the book, its contents, and its author. In addition, the two slowly become closer and closer and develop a much deeper relationship as a result.

The first area of this book that I will discuss is the format, which I will then follow with a review of the content and my overall thoughts about this book.

To begin, I found this entire concept to be rather brilliant, if we're being honest. I thought the marginalia idea was incredibly clever, and I also have a special interest in books about mysterious books and authors, so this completely hit all of my interests. The reason I was so drawn to the margin notes in this book is because I love reading other people's notes about things, so this just sort of rolled that interest up with an already fascinating storyline, which created a really inventive book.

One particular thing about the margin-writing that I had mixed feelings about, however, was the usage of different colored pens. In general, I'm impressed by the idea of using different colors/thicknesses of pens/markers to note the passing of time and give an idea of what notes were added first versus what notes were added most recently by the characters. On the surface, I loved this. But as I progressed, I became unsure: should I read the old notes first and go back and read the later ones? does it matter what order? will reading the recent notes spoil something? And the conclusion I came up with was this: it doesn't matter! I don't actually know if the authors intended it to be read a certain way or not, but personally, I think this book is meant to be an experiment that is unique to each reader. I tried reading only the older notes at first, but I soon realized that that was too frustrating and I ended up just reading them all together on the same page as I came upon them.

Another reading issue that presented itself was whether one should read the text of Ship of Theseus itself an then go back and read the notes or if one should read the text and marginalia of each page at the same time, so I experimented with this. I tried reading the text and the marginalia all at the same time, but this quickly became a bit too disjointed and confusing to keep track of everything. What I ended up doing was read the text of an entire chapter, then going back and reading the marginalia of that chapter. It was still a bit odd, but it worked best for me and I was able to better keep up with the story.

And now that I've discussed the format and reading experiencing at length, let's move on the story itself!

I have incredibly mixed feelings. The story overall is thought-provoking and definitely made me continue to want to know what was going to happen. Without question, I preferred reading the marginalia far, far more than the story told in Ship of Theseus. Ship of Theseus was, frankly, such a bore at times. I was interested in it in the beginning, and there were a few interesting parts in it, but overall... it was hard to get through.

Ship of Theseus is not a very action-heavy text and it relies much more on character intrigue and a lot abstract mysterious happenings that I just couldn't get into. That being said, it is still absolutely the kind of thing that I can see a lot of people enjoying, so I would still recommend giving it a chance. I just didn't have the patience at the time to enjoy it for some reason; it is something that I might go back to one day to reread, but for now I am just leaving it at my being disappointed by that text.

As I mentioned, however, the story told in the margins by the two students, Jennifer and Eric, was much more interesting. In their discussions, they deliberate over their search for the identity of Straka and the entire conspiracy that seems to surround Ship of Theseus and those involved. They also begin to discuss more and more personal issues that add so much to this novel--it really becomes almost thriller-like in the suspense that is created.

The writing of this book was extremely well-done and it is incredibly obvious that Abrams and Dorst are talented men--there is no doubt about that. Despite the text of Ship of Theseus not completely grabbing me, I still found myself rather enthralled by S. Some might say its gimmicky, but I don't think it was meant to be. I found it to be an truly interesting book format experiment that developed into a great story and conspiracy to attempt to figure it out. And, of course, it's one of those books that leaves much unsaid and up for reader to discuss. And they do, because I have seen specific forums and the like dedicated to fans of this book.

Overall, I gave S. four stars! I highly recommend it if you are looking for something a little different and incredibly intriguing.

"One book. Two readers. A world of mystery, menace, and desire."

Jen stumbles upon a book left behind by someone in the library and begins to read it. She's so entranced that she keeps the book to read it thoroughly. The book itself is engaging, as is the intrigue of the person who left it. That person has written numerous notes in the margins, clearly enamored and engrossed in the story. Jen decides to write her own notes in the margin and leave the book for the other person to pick up. This starts a conversation between the two of them, contained in writings in the margins of a library book.

The library book itself is Ship of Theseus, which is the final novel written by V.M. Straka, an author with a mysterious past. The book follows a man with amnesia, who has no idea about his past or who he is. He gets thrust aboard a ship traveling to unknown destinations. They call him S. and seem to know him. The crew is a bit creepy, very mysterious, and tight lipped. They tell him nothing about why they took him or where they're headed. S. is on a dangerous journey across land and sea, to an unknown end.

V. M. Straka was embroiled in his own mysterious life. Little is actually known of who Straka was or what he even looked like. He was deemed a revolutionary and at the center of the rumor mill for the novels he wrote and the events he was purported to be involved in.

The two readers of the library book, Jen and Eric, get to know each other through the notes they pass in the margins of the book. They discuss not only their lives, but the life and mystery of V.M. Straka. Jen is a college senior and Eric is a shunned grad student. Eric has been investigating who Straka was and Jen gets caught up in it as well. It seems they're not the only ones interested in the story. Others are willing to steal, and possibly do harm, to uncover the secrets of Straka and be the first to reveal them to the world. Jen and Eric must be diligent to uncover clues and careful about who they let into their world.

What a fun read! This book definitely gets 5 stars and a favorite status for the beauty and immersion of the reader into the story. The feel of the book, the slightly colored edges, even the smell definitely are reminiscent of a library book. It even has the checkout stamps and dates inside the back cover. The writing by Jen and Eric have a graceful flow to them as well. It starts out with Eric in black pen and Jen in blue pen and progresses to different colors as their relationship progresses....orange and green, purple and red. The style of their writing are very different as well, which, along with the different colors, allows the reader to easily determine who is talking. I love all the extra items that were included with the book. There are postcards, maps written on napkins, letters and notecards, all included within the pages of the book. I would've enjoyed more interaction with the items in the book, but that's a small quibble. Jen and Eric meet within the pages of the book and it becomes a scrapbook of their story. Love the idea and the execution!

As for the overall story, there was definitely intrigue and mystery, not only in Ship of Theseus, but with Jen and Eric and their investigation into Straka. I especially liked the ciphers hidden throughout the book. Jen and Eric mostly point them out and solve them for the reader. Some are straightforward, and others are not. There are a couple ciphers I still have to go back and figure out how they solved them. As I was reading the book, I was anticipating rating it four stars. However, the ending left me underwhelmed. It was anticlimactic for both stories, which was a bit disappointing. I have to give it a three for story. With the five for concept and style, it's a four overall for the book. Still a very enjoyable read.

Some quotes:
"I think: you're born a certain way. Later you get to decide how much you want to fight/change that."

"Hello rain. I see you've met my parade"

"S. nods. A blessing of his amnesia: he has no knowledge of any connections to others, and thus no connections to fear breaking, no connections to repair once broken, no connections to be grieved once they are lost. How fortunate, to be impervious to such things, to be ignorant of anyone else's feelings of loss that might involve him. <u>To be a self rewritten from a lost draft.</u>"

"S. nods. He understands Stenfalk's proposition intuitively; we create stories to help us shape a chaotic world, to navigate inequities of power, to accept our lack of control over nature, over others, over ourselves."

"How interesting, he thinks, that time is running so slowly for him right here, on this path, slower than elsewhere in this city, and a thousand times slower than on the ship, where years pass like weeks. What a revelation, to be shown - to be reminded - that time is so flexible, so adaptable, so idiosyncratic."

"Some of these changes are noteworthy ...; others insignificant .... Some of the changes are felicitous; many more are not, each one seeming to widen the gap between what was intended and what turned out to be."

"The story you walk into, he has learned, is always more complex than it first appears."

"Gradually it dawned on him that no one there was part of <i>anyone</i> else's world. They all occupied the same space but did not occupy it together. Imagine a thousand leaves of tracing paper, each with one person lightly penciled on it, all stacked atop a scene of a frozen city block. A thousand discrete and solitary realities that appear to be occurring in the same location."

"The stories that move outside time - that divert, oppose, resist. His life of words, of pictures and sounds that contemplate what the world is or could be. One atom of truth."

"...it is valuable because story is a fragile and ephemeral thing on its own, a thing that is easily effaced or disappeared or destroyed, and it is worth preserving."

I was very excited about this book but it is terribly boring and I couldn't finish it, my wife had the same experience. Don't be fooled by the unique design and inserts it's just a gimmick this book is probably the most boring, book I've read in 10 years.

Unfortunately this book turned out to be horrible. The story line between the two characters was confusing and it seemed like they were all over the place. The "actual" story line of the book was ok, nothing too exciting. The only reason I gave it one star was for the looks of the book. Anyone want to buy my used copy?? Lol ;)

I was very excited when I heard about this book and couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy. In the end, I was disappointed. You really need to put some thought into how you're going to consume this book. Each page has three levels of narrative - the original story, extensive footnotes, and then all the margin writings and loose paper inserts of two 'readers' passing notes to each other as they share the book in a library. It's several stories in one. After the first few chapters, I decided to focus first on the 'Ship of Theseus' with footnotes, and then go back to the beginning and read all the notes and scribbles. The 'Ship of Thesues' story I enjoyed. The 'S' note passing mystery dialogue didn't hold my interest.

Ok so admittedly, I have only just finished the Forward, but I am just going to rate it 5 stars anyway, because I know that I am going to love it. I will come back (probably in the far future because this book is going to take a joyously long amount of time between uni classes and such) to actually write a short review. But anyway, my big question is: "Can someone please give me some advice on how to read this?!" I read through the other comments and reviews but I am still unsure. Are you reading the black/grey and blue stuff first, and then coming back after you finish the book to read the orange/green, etc? Because those colors were obviously written during their second or third reading of the book. Or are you just reading it all as you read it the first time? Give me some suggestions! :) (Also this style reminds me a lot of House of Leaves, but it also has actual physical things in the book which is super cool!)

"One book. Two readers. A world of mystery, menace, and desire."

Jen stumbles upon a book left behind by someone in the library and begins to read it. She's so entranced that she keeps the book to read it thoroughly. The book itself is engaging, as is the intrigue of the person who left it. That person has written numerous notes in the margins, clearly enamored and engrossed in the story. Jen decides to write her own notes in the margin and leave the book for the other person to pick up. This starts a conversation between the two of them, contained in writings in the margins of a library book.

The library book itself is Ship of Theseus, which is the final novel written by V.M. Straka, an author with a mysterious past. The book follows a man with amnesia, who has no idea about his past or who he is. He gets thrust aboard a ship traveling to unknown destinations. They call him S. and seem to know him. The crew is a bit creepy, very mysterious, and tight lipped. They tell him nothing about why they took him or where they're headed. S. is on a dangerous journey across land and sea, to an unknown end.

V. M. Straka was embroiled in his own mysterious life. Little is actually known of who Straka was or what he even looked like. He was deemed a revolutionary and at the center of the rumor mill for the novels he wrote and the events he was purported to be involved in.

The two readers of the library book, Jen and Eric, get to know each other through the notes they pass in the margins of the book. They discuss not only their lives, but the life and mystery of V.M. Straka. Jen is a college senior and Eric is a shunned grad student. Eric has been investigating who Straka was and Jen gets caught up in it as well. It seems they're not the only ones interested in the story. Others are willing to steal, and possibly do harm, to uncover the secrets of Straka and be the first to reveal them to the world. Jen and Eric must be diligent to uncover clues and careful about who they let into their world.

What a fun read! This book definitely gets 5 stars and a favorite status for the beauty and immersion of the reader into the story. The feel of the book, the slightly colored edges, even the smell definitely are reminiscent of a library book. It even has the checkout stamps and dates inside the back cover. The writing by Jen and Eric have a graceful flow to them as well. It starts out with Eric in black pen and Jen in blue pen and progresses to different colors as their relationship progresses....orange and green, purple and red. The style of their writing are very different as well, which, along with the different colors, allows the reader to easily determine who is talking. I love all the extra items that were included with the book. There are postcards, maps written on napkins, letters and notecards, all included within the pages of the book. I would've enjoyed more interaction with the items in the book, but that's a small quibble. Jen and Eric meet within the pages of the book and it becomes a scrapbook of their story. Love the idea and the execution!

As for the overall story, there was definitely intrigue and mystery, not only in Ship of Theseus, but with Jen and Eric and their investigation into Straka. I especially liked the ciphers hidden throughout the book. Jen and Eric mostly point them out and solve them for the reader. Some are straightforward, and others are not. There are a couple ciphers I still have to go back and figure out how they solved them. As I was reading the book, I was anticipating rating it four stars. However, the ending left me underwhelmed. It was anticlimactic for both stories, which was a bit disappointing. I have to give it a three for story. With the five for concept and style, it's a four overall for the book. Still a very enjoyable read.

Some quotes:
"I think: you're born a certain way. Later you get to decide how much you want to fight/change that."

"Hello rain. I see you've met my parade"

"S. nods. A blessing of his amnesia: he has no knowledge of any connections to others, and thus no connections to fear breaking, no connections to repair once broken, no connections to be grieved once they are lost. How fortunate, to be impervious to such things, to be ignorant of anyone else's feelings of loss that might involve him. <u>To be a self rewritten from a lost draft.</u>"

"S. nods. He understands Stenfalk's proposition intuitively; we create stories to help us shape a chaotic world, to navigate inequities of power, to accept our lack of control over nature, over others, over ourselves."

"How interesting, he thinks, that time is running so slowly for him right here, on this path, slower than elsewhere in this city, and a thousand times slower than on the ship, where years pass like weeks. What a revelation, to be shown - to be reminded - that time is so flexible, so adaptable, so idiosyncratic."

"Some of these changes are noteworthy ...; others insignificant .... Some of the changes are felicitous; many more are not, each one seeming to widen the gap between what was intended and what turned out to be."

"The story you walk into, he has learned, is always more complex than it first appears."

"Gradually it dawned on him that no one there was part of <i>anyone</i> else's world. They all occupied the same space but did not occupy it together. Imagine a thousand leaves of tracing paper, each with one person lightly penciled on it, all stacked atop a scene of a frozen city block. A thousand discrete and solitary realities that appear to be occurring in the same location."

"The stories that move outside time - that divert, oppose, resist. His life of words, of pictures and sounds that contemplate what the world is or could be. One atom of truth."

"...it is valuable because story is a fragile and ephemeral thing on its own, a thing that is easily effaced or disappeared or destroyed, and it is worth preserving."

I wanted to like the book and the idea of a book that really has to be a book - not an e-book - The central mysteries of the book are never solved! You have to enjoy the journey and not care about finding out why the characters do what they do. Here are the meta-spoilers - the things we never find out. Stop reading this review if you are hell bent on reading the book.

-Why did S. have amnesia? Who was S. before he had amnesia? Why did Sola pick S? Who on earth was Sola anyway?
-Did Vaclav survive after jumping in the river? Why were Eric and Jen so convinced that Straka lived after 1910 but couldn't convince anyone else?
-Did Jen pass her English class, drop out, or what? (there were hints of a planned sequel here, fat chance I say, and if I'm wrong, I ain't gonna be reading it)

And those are just the big ones - there are countless more, who is Maelstrom, why doesn't he participate in the Tradition, who was the lone sailor, why was he alone and how did he survive, who wrote the S in pen, who is the source of Eric's funding and why are they giving him money, how do 60 years worth of Straka scholars miss all the clues that Jen finds while she's juggling a senior-undergrad course load...I could go on. Bottom line, who told Abrams and Dorst that it's OK for magical realism to abandon the duty to make sense? The book is a strange mix of atmospherics and soap-opera melodramas, some of which are partly satisfying - but not the main mysteries, which you live with throughout the book, losing hope they will be resolved along the way. As for the melodramas and the imaginary histories of early 20th-century political radicals and reactionaries and conspirators...they're OK. If that does it for you, fine. An ambitious work that in the end is an intellectual version of a JJ Abrams movie - it's a ride movie, it's not supposed to make sense.

Some books are just good stories written by an author and thoroughly enjoyed by the reader. And a select few are works of art created by multiple authors and an incredible development team behind a daring publisher; S. is one of those books, perhaps the only one of its kind. A project that has been years in the making, beginning as an idea between two creative guys that became something much bigger when Mulholland Books agreed to publish it and employed the abilities of a team of editors, copyeditors and book development people to create a book that is much more than just any old book.

S. works on many levels. If Inception could be a book, this would be it.

Look Inside

At the deepest level is an old forgotten book by a once well-known author whose life has been shrouded in mystery and whose identity still remains in question. It is called Ship of Theseus about a person known as “S” who awakes not knowing who he is and anything about his life, as he begins a very strange journey into finding answers to his many questions.

At the next level is the translator of the Ship of Theseus who was a huge fan of V. M. Straka’s work, so much so that they were in a relationship, though it is unknown whether the author and translator were ever able to confess their love for each other. However, the translator and author have left secreted messages and ciphers in the text as well as within the footnotes. So while the translator is educating the reader on the story and facts about the book and what she knew about the author, she is also secretly communicating with Straka.

S2

Up one level we have the completed old book which is what the reader holds in their hands when they take it out of the slipcase. The level of detail that the publisher went to recreating this old book is nothing short of astounding, with stamped check out dates, stains and marks on some of the pages, and an aged feel and color to the pages; their even seems to be a musty smell about the volume. And within the margins and spaces around the text we have a former teacher and an undergrad student conversing back and forth about the text, the author, life, and eventually their own lives and feelings towards each other, even though they don’t physically meet for a long time.

There are a couple sub-levels within this particular level as the two “main” characters are not simply conversing back and forth but are doing so at different points in their lives. Eric has read the book a number of times, and has notations from the first time he read it when he was a teenager in pencil, and then further comments between Jennifer and he at different points in time, when they know different things about each other.

Then there are the number of pieces of media secreted within the pages: photos, letters between Eric and Jennifer, but also relating to Ship of Theseus; postcards and notes and an incredibly detailed map drawn upon a napkin. Again, the detail that went into creating these items is nothing short of astonishing, with the old photos with logo prints on the back, aged postcards, letters with ink smudges and coffee stains. As for the map, it is drawn in pen on a college napkin that still perfectly, delicately folds to show the school logo.

map

At the final level is the reader opening the pages of S. for the first time, taking in all these levels and each of the stories going on at each level. It can be read in certain ways and is the sort of book that can benefit from being read multiple times. Ultimately, it is a book unlike any other, likely unlike anything you have read before. But it will be a journey you won’t soon forget, and one you can return to whenever you want.

Originally written on August 14, 2014 ©Alex C. Telander.

For more reviews, check out the BookBanter site: http://www.bookbanter.net.

This has to be one of the most original concepts in a book and one of the most confusing I have ever tried to unlock the secrets of. "S" is really a book within a book, a mystery within a mystery and a love story within a love story. The perfectly aged new book -" The Ship of Theseus"contains the story of S who finds himself alone, soaking wet wandering the streets of some town, unaware of who he is or why he is there. He is then drugged and taken aboard a ship whose crew is a strange zombielike group that sew their mouths shut and are captained by a madman. S keeps having visions of a woman he remembers and seems to see her everywhere. He escapes the ghost ship only to get pulled into the strange world of revolutionaries and goes around searching for and killing the agents who he is sure are after him. The only hope he has is that he will find Sola and solve the mystery of who he is and why he must do what he is driven to do. The second storyline is found in the margins of the book and is a love affair between a young female student and a lonely ex-grad student who communicate back and forth by writing notes in the book and leaving it in the library. They are trying to solve the mystery surrounding Straka , the author of the book and in doing so they discover their attraction to one another. If the notes in the margins aren't enough to puzzle over there are letters, postcards and whatnot tucked in the pages of the book that are clues to solving the mystery. This will take over your life or you will be like me, tearing your hair out but enjoying the process and appreciating how J.J. Abrams is able to pull us into a good mystery.

S. by J. J. Abrams and Doug Dorst is a love story to printed books. It's a multi-layered story and it was a fun book to read. I believe it is available as an ebook, but you would lose much of the tactile enjoyment of this book. It's really an amazing work of publishing and a treat to pore over.

The book arrives in a sealed slip cover. When you break the seal, it appears that what you have is an old library book. This is born out by the library sticker on the spine, the yellowing pages and the library checkout stamp on the back page. You also notice the pages have things tucked into them and there is writing in the margins on almost all of the pages. The first thought might be how to even begin tackling this work. I'll reveal how I did later for those interested in knowing.

The story is layers within layers within layers. The first layer is the book itself. It is called Ship Of Theseus and it's written by an author known as V. M. Straka. It tells the story of a man shanghaied aboard a strange pirate ship, where the crew have sewn their mouths shut. They have their own dark purpose for this passenger.

The second layer is with the translator's footnotes. There is insight into the mysterious author and there seems to be a relationship between author and translator. Who is the translator and are there coded messages in the footnotes?

The final layer is between Jennifer and Eric. Eric has been studying this book for years and writing notes in the margins in pencil. Jennifer discovers it and begins a written conversation with Eric. The two bond over the mysteries of the book. They also leave all kinds of things inside . There are postcards, letters, old photographs, maps on napkins, obituaries.

It's a great story. I was given the book as a Christmas gift by a friend that knows I love books and puzzles and it was the perfect gift. I absolutely enjoyed it.

You could just read straight through and piece things together, but there seems to be an order. I'll tell you how I approached this, but if you want to unlock the puzzle and discover for yourself, just skip the rest of this review.
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First, I took everything out of the book and documented the page numbers they were in. I even photographed them and put them in a cloud account (in case the items were misplaced). The margin notes by Eric and Jennifer are written at different times, but different color ink is used, so it's easy enough to decipher. Blue & black, then green and orange, then red and purple and finally black and black. I first read a chapter with Eric's older pencil notes and footnotes, then went back and only read the blue & black notes and any extra items that were found on pages. Then when I finished the book, I went back and read the green and orange, the went back and read red and purple, then black and black.
There is a chronology to the notes, but even within colors they jump around. Just be patient and you can piece things together.

I was really excited to read this book because it's really like two novels in one. Ship of Theseus is printed in full, but the really interesting story to me was the one told in its margins. Everyone teaches you not to write in books, but I think this is the book that has me convinced that writing in them can only make them more interesting. Jennifer and Eric communicate with each other as they each analyze the book (which was really cool to see, maybe because I'm an English major myself and need to do these things on a regular basis), get to know one another, and also try to solve the mystery of who Straka truly was.

I rented this book from the library so I'm not sure if all of the supplementary materials--postcards, little notes, and maps--that are shoved between the pages of the book were there. I guess I'll never know, but with what I had I was able to follow along with the story pretty well. 

After a while, I honestly began to get bored with the Ship of Theseus part of the book. It read like a classic, true, and I can really respect how the writer had the style mimic an older book. But that isn't the kind of thing I'm anxious to read during my free time--not when I have action, suspense, and a love story all packed into the margins of the book, written in brightly colored inks so my eyes are drawn there before the actual text.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who has the time to sit with it for a while. It's fairly dense, but shouldn't be intimidating. Once you're interested, you'll definitely want to keep reading. I feel like there are so many clues and codes that weren't pointed out by Jennifer and Eric but that the reader could find. Unfortunately, the book needs to go back to the library before I can spend that much time trying to figure out all of its mysteries. I'd say try to solve them for yourself and see what you might find.

I took the advise of another reader on how to read it and I have to say I didn't like it.

How I think you should read it..

1. read the story and forget the conversation in the margins and the inserts. That way the flow of the story isn't interrupted.
2. Read the Pencil and Jen's Blue cursive and Eric's black ink.
3. Jen's Orange cursive and Eric's green ink.
4. Jen's purple cursive and Eric's red ink.
5. Jen's Black cursive and Eric's black ink.

You can tell based on what they are saying when you should read the inserts.

The lines pointing the way between the conversation are pretty clear, you shouldn't get lost.

*I have to say I was a little overwhelmed but very excited about this book. I even bought a copy for my sister.
Amazing idea JJ Abrams.

The book had soo many names and thoughts that I am sure I will missed so many things that others prob. picked up on. I will eventually have to read it again.

BTW, I think I was confused and missed stuff bc of the way I was told to read this story. Seriously read the story 1st and then read the conversation.

5 Stars for how neat and original this book is.
4 1/2 stars to Jen and Eric's conversation.
5 stars to the actual story.

Jen and Eric discuss the author of the story and the connection to the characters in the story, the problems they have in the "real world" and their relationship to one another.

I can't even write a review on the actual story bc it was so amazing that I can't put it in words.
READ THIS BOOK!!!

Imagine you're looking for a book in the stacks at the library. You see an old (huh - 1949!) volume with an intriguing title, and pull it down. As you flip through, you notice that it's full of margin notes that turn out to be a <i>conversation</i> between scholars. The conversation is all about the book's mysterious author & his mysterious life (was he a hermit? A spy? A political agitator? A ghost?) and the pages of the book are stuffed with related ephemera - newspaper clippings, facsimiles of letters, photographs, postcards. You have no idea when the notes were written, or who these people are, but it's so engrossing you can't look away.

I'm reading through this as slowly as I can, not only to make it last, but because the academic mystery unfurling within takes careful attention. It's all printed/produced so as to make you feel that this is a real place, a real book, a real conversation between two long-gone people. The color of the pages, the chosen typeface, the slight discoloration to the endpapers - all just perfect.

I highly recommend this to English/Lit majors, librarians, and anyone else who loves chasing mysteries from the past.

I was quite excited when I ran across this at my local library, and had fun with it ---for a while. I didn't do what some reviewers are saying, read the text first, then go back & read the marginalia & other goodies, but just read both alongside (since I usually am reading anywhere from 2-5 books at a time, i figured I could keep track).
I didn't have a problem keeping up with the different aspects of the book, but what ultimately killed it for me was the fact the way the marginal communications went. I found the idea of talking to some mysterious stranger via the margins of a book fascinating (I've actually done it myself once, but only had about 3 back 'n' forths). However, I kept realizing that the two were talking back & forth so many times in a day that really, the only way it could've worked is if they were just standing on either side of a bookshelf, passing the book back & forth. Without that, I wouldn't have had any trouble 'staying in the book' & suspending my disbelief. But as it was, it just seemed idiotic (plus fairly bizarre/creepy) that the two would be practically tossing the book back & forth like a pingpong ball yet never just introducing themselves & getting it the heck over with.

Ultimately I didn't finish the book, because the main thread of "who really is vsj?" plus the silliness of the margin-chat's timing just didn't keep me in it....I just didn't care enough to put forth the effort to keep reading it plus keeping careful track of the inserts. (btw, in the library edition, at least, the inserts all had discreet little stickers that indicated where each was supposed to go...handy!).

I see there's an audio edition, which boggles my mind. It's gotta be like doing an audio version of the 1200-page graphic novels* that contain a total of maybe 50 words. In other words, impossible to make it work!

*tho they oughta call 'em graphic epic tomes, IMO

S. provided me with a reading experience unlike any other. As soon as I heard that J.J. Abrams was involved with a book, I knew I had to read it. The central concept of S. – two strangers get to know each other by exchanging their thoughts in the margins of a book – was conceived by Abrams and written by Doug Dorst. S. is more of a “package” than a book, and the package consists of a novel called Ship of Theseus by the (fake) author, V.M. Straka, the notes in the margins written by Jen and Eric, and more than 20 loose inserts (letters, postcards, photos, etc.) exchanged by Jen and Eric.

It was a lot to digest, and I initially began by trying to read the novel and all of Jen’s and Eric’s margin notes simultaneously. And there are a LOT of notes; they are on nearly every page. But it was too much for my brain to absorb. In some cases, Jen and Eric commented directly on the story as it was occurring on a particular page. In others, they were discussing their lives and making plans to meet. So, after about twenty pages, I decided to read Ship of Theseus while ignoring the notes. and when I was finished, I started back at the beginning and read all of the notes.

Ship of Theseus features a man known only as S. He has no memory of his past life, and as he attempts to uncover his identity, he ends up on a ship with some very sketchy sailors. As he travels, he pursues a woman he met in a bar at the opening of the story, and he hooks up with a group of people who are being hunted down by the agents of a sinister corporation. The story had some supernatural, ghostly feels, and while it was relatively enjoyable, it wasn’t the star of this “package” for me.

Instead, I was drawn in by the relationship between Jen and Eric. Ship of Theseus is purported to be written by an author named V.M. Straka, but there is controversy over his (or possibly her) real identity. Jen and Eric are both separately consumed with uncovering Straka’s identity, and their correspondence begins when Jen finds Eric’s notated copy of Ship of Theseus, and she writes comments in the book in reply to him. They leave the book in a location for the other to discover, and they continue their correspondence for a time without ever meeting. While they initially focus on the story itself and Straka, the tone of their notes gradually becomes more flirtatious, and Jen pushes for an in-person meeting. Eric is reluctant, and I kept thinking, “Come on, you crazy kids! You’re PERFECT for each other!”

Adding another layer of complexity is the fact that the notes are not in chronological order. We are able to follow the timing based on the color of ink used by Jen and Eric to write, so if you pick up on that early on, it’s not overly confusing. This technique made the notes more fun to read, because we are privy to the direction of Jen’s and Eric’s relationship even before they are. If you don’t get into the relationship between Jen and Eric, it’s likely that this will feel like a tedious read. But if you do, I think you’ll enjoy following the progression of the relationship.

If S. sounds like your type of story, I’d also recommend Night Film by Marisha Pessl, which featured a similar theme of people trying to uncover the identity of a mysterious director.

This is a book unlike anything else I have ever read.

There are two stories within this work.

One is surrealistic and focuses upon a freedom fighter known only as “S.” He has amnesia, travels upon a mysterious ship full of anomalous sailors, and, through a series of events, battles an evil capitalist while yearning for a woman he does not know, but loves nonetheless.

The other story takes place within the margins of the first, and it is the written exchange in the form of annotations between a university student and an exiled graduate student. The core of their dialogue occurs through written notes and centers upon the author of the above story, but, as fate would have it, their own lives seem in danger as a result of their investigation and this brings them together. In order to understand their story, you must realize that they have different handwriting, identify their particular style, and comprehend that different colors of ink represent different time periods in their lives. Because they apparently read and reread the book several times, you may see a note from them that was actually written near the end of their story. Yes, it takes some getting used to.

The beautiful thing about this book, besides the notes in the margins, is that there are several artifacts within that correlate to the researchers’ conversations and research. My favorite, for examples, is a map one of them drew upon a napkin. There are also postcards, photographs, handwritten notes, even copies of newspaper articles. In fact, the book itself is made to look like an old library book, complete with water stains and a checkout history.

The only negative thing I have to say is that I didn't completely understand the stories of the book, which seems to necessitate another read on my part. I chose to read each page and the margin notes all at once, and perhaps this was a misstep. My reread will actually result in a third read, because I plan to read the story all the way through, and then go back and read the notes in the margins separately. This should help distinguish the two tales from each other. I jumped from one to the other on a page-by-page basis, and I believe this may have weakened my understanding of both.

That being said, S. is an important book because it challenges our notion of what constitutes a book. In this digital age, print books must do more than they ever have before, and S. certainly seems to utilize a winning strategy. By including multimedia artifacts that pertain to the book, the story becomes extremely interactive for the reader, making it all the more real. Of course, the artifacts must seem genuine, which S. accomplishes, but I have to wonder if the average publisher could take on such an expensive venture.

In the end, I greatly enjoyed S., but I think I’ll enjoy it even more upon subsequent rereads. There’s nothing wrong with revisiting a book, there’s no shame in needing to get closer to a book in order to fully understand it. There’s certainly nothing adverse about art demanding a little more, especially when it gives a little more.

~Scott William Foley, author of Andropia

S. is a novel by J.J. Abrams, the award-winning filmmaker best known for the Lost tv series.

More remarkably, S. is a brilliant attempt to breath new life into print fiction, a form of entertainment that, as it is well known, has been steadily losing ground to alternative options such as video games, tv series and movies.

It does so by leveraging on a mix of powerful ingredients: the first one is J.J. Abrams himself, a cult name commanding a huge following (read: target). Mind you, here J.J. Abrams’ role is more or less the one he occupied within the Lost franchise: he comes up with the idea and acts as overall showrunner… while the actual writing duties are taken over by one Doug Dorst (this is no Pulitzer-level text but the prose flows nicely and it’s not entirely devoid of subtlety and charm).

The second ingredient, which once again goes back to Mr. Abrams, is the concept itself: inside the slipcase readers will find Ship of Theseus, a book by a fictional author called V.M. Straka. The book is heavily annotated by two, also fictional, scholars that engage in a sort of pre-iMessage back-and-forth among themselves. This second layer is in a fact another narrative that sheds some light over the mystery of who exactly Straka might be. Last but not least we have the translator, whose footnotes add to the overall reading experience.

Basically S. is a cross between Nabokov’s Pale Fire, A.S. Byatt’s Possession and Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves (although it’s not that eerie…nor as good).

Last ingredient, visible at first glance, is the money that obviously went into the project: S. came with its own pre-release trailer (although this is becoming more and more common for big-time publishing events) but, above all, it’s an incredibly beautiful print artifact: pages are faux-aged, annotations look real and the book is filled with a treasure trove of newspaper cuttings, postcards, essay notes and other assorted ephemera (including a map printed on a napkin). Anyone familiar with printing will know that this book, in terms of pure production, must have cost quite a fortune compared to your average hardback.

Expensive…yet this is one of the reasons that might just push fans to buy it.

S. will surely enjoy a well-deserved success (it quickly became a bestseller on the store…and that must count for something) but financial figures aside, this is both an engaging read and a collectable delight of a book.

I agree with some readers...you have to find your own nitch with this. At first I (and my ADD) lol had a difficult time. Although I was thoroughly intrigued!! From the feel, wear, clues and even the old smell.
It wasn't until after page 36..or so, I decided to concentrate solely on the story "ship of theseus" ..a page or two at a time.. THEN go back and read the banter and cliff notes.
I have children under 4...so my reading time was utilized with kindle and audible. Which is great! But THIS book is like having a little treasure in this digital age.
I'm slower averaging about 10 pg a day, due to motherhood, you have to really concentrate, but I'm transported on an adventure. Amazing concept...I will recommended to all my friends and read it again when my kids are older!
If you LOVE old books,,mysteries,,and finding clues?? Buy this book....now;)

A story with a story within a story. Brain-child of two creative geniuses J.J. Abrams & Doug Dorst and a development team too, 'S.' boasts of a successful full package of a mystery. It is basically Inception as a book because like the movie, S. works on multiple levels to bring in the packaged deal of creativity and mystery. But "how to read it?" that's the million dollar question .... We'll get to it soon ..... read on.....

S. holds a multi-tiered creation in its elusive slipcase covering. At the base is an old library book, 'Ship of Theseus' by a well known author(fictional), shrouded in mystery and intrigue, V.M. Straka. About a man named 'S' who wakes up without any knowledge of his before and goes on a very mysteriously strange journey for answers. Then there is the translator for the book who is apparently in a relationship with the author. It is unclear whether they ever meet but within the text of the book, they leave coded messages and ciphers in the main text and footnotes for readers and plainly communicating with each other through their words.

Up on level we have two readers of the book, Jen, an undergrad and former teacher-aide Eric conversing back and forth within the wide margins and spaces of the book. They conversation ranges from, about the book, the author Straka and all the conspiracies and theories regarding his books, eventually life in and their own feelings as we progress through the pages in varied quality of colored ink & lead to dictate the changes of time and their own realizations of romance through the pages.

The final, the top tier belongs to the number of extras and media add-ons: photos, letters, newspaper articles, postcards and one very detailed map drawn on a napkin, stowed away amongst the pages of the book brilliantly styled to mimic the look of an old forgotten library book with yellowed pages. Even the letters and the other extras boasts of a perfect look for the package, smudged ink, creased pages, coffee stains and the map on napkin drawn in black ink pen. Really goes to show the level of perfection, the publishing team put in, leaving no stone upturned.

And finally, we readers get the full package ready to be awed and astounded by its sheer brilliance. Taking it all in. This is a book that needs careful consideration before we begin reading. How to read it? ..... Well You can go about it your own way. You can finish the main text first, the read the margins and the extras. Go by the just now mentioned idea chapter by chapter or if you can then fire through it all simultaneously. Ultimately this is a gem that you will definitely never forget, the novel adventure of discovering every nook and cranny of this book's mysteries is something everyone should experience.

The idea is cool and it is a beautiful book. It looks like an old book from a library that 2 people have been writing in the margins of. There are several levels - the novel by V. Straka and the footnotes by his translator, which contain clues. It is beautiful and amazing it works at all and it is readable, though it's can feel like a job at times. The problem is that the novel is pretty tedious and pretentious. The footnotes are a chore, but have all the clues. Then there are the notes in the margins are written in different pens and two different handwritings, that is the central story. You can tell by the color of the pen when the different notes were written (it becomes obvious). The story in the margins is a love story and an academic mystery about who the author of the novel and who translator really are. Other academics are trying to find out first. That story is quite engaging and well done. Then there are the clues in the footnotes and I don't know if they are solvable, but the continue on-line. There are several websites by the authors, that I know of, which are clearly part of the project: Eotovos Wheel (has info about all the possible Straka candidates) and Radio Straka, where there are rare transmissions (including right now as they play opera and talk about some mysteries) and the authors do tweet. Dorst, the writer recently tweeted a fake historical review of Ship of Theives (novel part) panning it, which is really great self parody. Fans, and the authors are pleased, have put up of this useful site: [...] - where they discuss clues and codes in the books etc. Many Lost and Fringe fans are there . Does one come to and end there? I have no idea. I didn't try. I finished the book, was satisfied with what where the margin story ended, but had some fun online reading what others found. I still tune in occasionally.

I admire that it does work on so many levels and is readable. I think it be better if the novel they obsess on were better, but that be really hard to pull off. There is a decent end, but you can keep pondering some things in the footnotes and the clues that are released still on -line by the authors. In a way, it gets lost (like the series). It was a chore to read, but fun too. I don't know that i'd recommend it. Most seem to drop it. I wish a friend would finish so I could talk about the end.

The book, though it is more than a book, can be read different ways. You could read the novel first, however, and go back and read the inserts and the notes in the margins in the order that they were written (becomes obvious). I read page by page in this order: novel insert, footnotes, margin notes. You can skim the novel. The footnotes are sometimes dull, but have many of the clues. I could keep the story in the margins straight. That is the main story. My advice is feel free to skim the novel, as it's boring often. You can go crazy about the clues and write in the book yourself and or continue on line, where people keep posting about it and more is released by the authors. You can read skim the novel, focus on the margin story and enjoy the ride those to had. That end is satisfying. If you get that far, it's fun to play with some stuff and see what others are doing. You can keep going.

The problem is it takes some effort to read a story on 3 levels or more, with only one level really working. It is a wonderful idea, the inserts are a blast. Who does love a map written on a napkin, and xeroxes and letters etc?. However, the novel didn't work and that bothered me as why are these two obsessed with it? it was a job to read a book like this. Not all of it is as well done. The side story is a bit college romance but it really did take me back and I liked it a lot. It is kind of up to you where you stop. I can see why some did at the end of the first chapter.

It's really cool to look at. If you don't read it, just look at a physical copy if it is still in stores, as it is unique. It is lovely homage to physical books, to academic obsession and for that I love it. It's very imperfect, but that is OK.

1. FANTASTIC EXPERIENCE. Going through this "book" is a great adventure, but the right approach is required, one cannot just read everything that is on a single page and then pass to the next page. I think part of the experience is to discover the right way to read it. If one cannot discover by oneself, there are many comments here, in goodreads.com, or in other places about it. From what I have seen in other reviews, some (not all) of those who gave 1 or 2 stars took the wrong approach. In fact, for me the real enjoyment began when I finished the "first layer", and when I started to read the handwritten comments.
2. If you LOVE BOOKS, libraries, footnotes, annotations in books, stories about authors, and the smell of new/old books, this "novel" might be for you. If you are not excited about it when you pass the pages for the first time, perhaps you should not waste your time.
3. WHY 4 STARS instead of 6? Even if the concept is great, the design is just perfect, from my perspective (others might have a different experience), the "novel" inside the "novel" (The Ship of Theseus) is a little long and the language is a bit tedious. The tediousness comes (intentionally, I think) from the fictional author's (Straka) style, and from the fact that the novel (TSpT) was written not to read "alone", but only makes sense because of the life of the fictional author, and the intention of the real authors. In addition to that, I feel that the "readers" of the novel (Eric and Jen) are a bit like teenagers, and the "research" (the "detective story" around the whole thing) is slightly naïve. 4 stars because, even if it is fantastic and I enjoyed it, I would not read it again. Maybe.

I'll try to keep this review brief, but it's tough - there's a lot to talk about! S follows Jen and Eric, two Straka lovers writing in the margins of his last book, "Ship of Theseus." They're working to unravel the mystery of the "S" and who V.M. Straka really was, while discovering a lot about themselves and each other. SoT itself is also a book of self discovery, mixed with political intrigue and many metaphors (most of which - to be frank - were over my head).

I did find SoT interesting, but I was more invested in the lives of Jen and Eric. Jen and Eric's notes span several timelines and there's plenty of advice on the internet on how to tackle them. Personally, I read the entire book straight through and kept track of "past" and "future" notes in my head.

The physical book itself is a very fun experience. The book is made to look like an old library book from 1949 - compete with aging, browned pages the occasional stain. All the ephemera included was wonderful - old photos and documents, post cards, maps, notes and more. Jen and Eric's writing was my favorite part and it got to the point where blank pages made me feel lonely. Overall, there's a lot going on in this book - two very involved story lines - but there's a lot to love and it's well worth owning!

The book within this book, "Ship of Theseus," is a very well-written and fast-paced read. Its genre is magical realism, with only a modicum of realism, but I really loved the story. When you add the other story overlaying this one--the marginal notes handwritten by two readers, Eric and Jen, the names and places and time changes are difficult to follow and remember. In other words, it requires a great deal from us, the readers. Not a bad thing, necessarily, but hard work. And then, (SPOILER ALERT) if you expect the mysteries to be solved, as I did, you're in for a disappointment at the end. Apparently if you learn to use the code wheel inserted in the book and go back over all the clues, you may be able to answer some of the questions. But frankly, that was just more time than I wanted to spend. So I went away thrilled at the originality of this work, but unwilling to re-read and put in the time necessary to get more answers. It was fun while it lasted, but reading should be just that: fun, not homework.

Where to begin... First, this book is the most memorable book I've EVER read. Second, the combination of two story lines is hands down the most unique to be put down on paper. Hats off to J.J. and Doug! Third, in such a digital world, this book MUST be read in the analog format. To be honest, I don't know how they can pull this off digitally without losing the unique experience of reading S. I have not held a paperback or hard cover book in years. This book brought back so many memories from the lost era, it makes me want to go out and buy physical books once more.

Now for the story itself. You must read the main part of the book first and then go back and read the dialogue between Jen & Eric. One other reviewer has the timeline via the different inks. If you read the reviews you will see what I mean.

The emotions and intrigue are weaved around and at some point you become S. You can't help looking thru his eyes seeing what he sees and also looking inward toward the emotions and the motivations that drives him through this journey. You also become Jen and Eric and you learn what are the sacrifices your willing to make to resolve the mystery of V.M. Straka.

I won't say much more except for this: RUN OUT AND GET THIS BOOK! You will not regret it.

Interesting idea of two people leaving notes to each other in margins of book, but after the novelty wore off, it just seemed tedious, trying to read the back and forth dialogue. After 80 pages, I didn't care who these people were and was not involved enough in the story, and now the book is sitting on the bottom of the pile of books to be read. Since then, I've read one other novel in 5 evenings. This one, I've had for almost 2 months.

I’m not sure where to write about this, but this is a review on the product, not the story. I was under the impression I was purchasing the book new for $31.50 (which is the Prime price for the new hardcover). I just opened the package and the book is clearly not new. I had previously ordered the same for my friend and that one came shrink-wrapped and was obviously new. My copy was not shrink-wrap and there is evident wear and tear on the book jacket and the seal is broken. This wouldn’t be a big issue with any other book. S comes with a lot of added notes and souvenirs inside the pages of the book that can easily fall out and are designated to be in particular spots in the book. I’m not sure if there is a way to inventory the items to make sure everything is included since the book is clearly not new and I paid for a new book.

This book was reviewed as being an interesting "experiment" having a "meta story" interweaved with a novel. And that is an interesting idea. But it was taken to excess - making reading even a couple of pages an all-night experience of "reading the base novel", then reading the dozen "notes" on each page, and trying to dissect "who wrote which note". Clever idea, but not for 300+ pages! I gave up even trying. And there are also cards, etc. that keep falling out of the book - again, clever idea taken to excess.

This book is cleverly designed such that multiple stories run parallel to each other. The most obvious story is the fictional book written by a fictional author. Another story can be pieced together from the writings of the two college students in between the margins. But there’s more: Pieces of the back story of the two students, the mystery of the author they are trying to uncover, and the stories of people involved are fad to the reader by the evolving, color-coded notes as well as the loose documents that came with the book. These stories blend together, each giving hints to what the others are about. Yet this book is more than a strange tale to be solved. It is a rich combination of mystery, romance, fantasy, and philosophy. Depending on the experiences and individualities of the readers, they will feel resonance with different very different aspects of the book. They would have many different understandings. What it is all about; one can only judge for themselves after reading the book.

My feeling of the book changes throughout the two weeks I was reading it. Sometimes it was an exciting adventure; at time it was creepy to the point of being terrifying, especially when read in the quiet of late night hours; there are sadness, regret, and disappointment, but also warmth, care, love, and understanding. I remember thinking about the things I cared about when I read and how I should took care to cherish them. It is a book worthwhile to be reread it many times.

Reading S also has a lasting effect on my reading and note taking habits. At the time when postcards, letters, and marginal notes are no longer common, I am left with a great desire to share my thoughts by the written word. Like the characters said in the book, written notes transforms a book into a scratch book of our lives, capturing time between its pages. They provide us with a means to speak to ourselves across time. And it is made all the sweeter when we write with a friend. Treating note-taking as a conversation to either me or a potential reader, I think more about my reactions when I write notes. The effect is profound. The new notes I've taken have become more accessible and more interesting. This helps when I came back to the notes days later. There is less perplexity about what I was thinking, or indeed what I meant, when I wrote the notes. Occasionally, a small voice in my head wondered if there will be a day when there is another that will write in my books and share their thoughts with me. With beautifully designed and written books like S, such ideas are bound to take root, and one cannot help but hope and dream.

3 stars for the novel itself;
4 stars for the story in the margins; and
4+ stars for the idea/presentation.

All in all, a very entertaining experience. one would have to enjoy puzzles for this to be worth while.

I recommend (as many others before me have):

1. reading the novel itself along with the pencil annotations first;
2. going through again reading Jen's blue cursive and Eric's black ink;
3. then the orange and green ink;
4. then the purple and red ink; and
5. finally Jen's black cursive and Eric's replies also in black ink.

Read each insert when referenced (or cheat a little like I did and peruse them first so that it will be clear when they fit into the story).

It's five times through the entire book, but it's a logical way to grasp the story. The inserts are interesting, but honestly don't add much to the story.

I look forward to exploring the websites related to the book.

S is first and foremost about the book as an object in itself. When you open it, you will face not just a text, but a number of objects (cards, letters, notes) which look so realistic that you will appreciate them independently from their content, i.e. from the text.
Same goes for the story. You will enjoy the experience of reading a multilayered text: the book itself ("The Ship of Theseus" by V. M. Straka) and the notes that Eric and Jen write on its margins.
As for the story itself and for the metastory by Eric and Jen, don't expect anything special. What looks like a mistery/suspense ends up very much as a trivial love story on the one side and a generic moral message about bad bad weapon dealers and powerful politicians who don't give a damn about people and environment - very much like in a Miyazaki's anime (e.g. Howl's Moving Castle, from which some parts of the book seem to come directly).
So, five stars for the book as an object, 1 or 2 for the story (and the style).

If ideas were worth five stars this book would have no negative reviews. It's ambitious, unique, and most certainly creative. However, the story itself is worth (if I may be generous) 4 stars. The story within in the story is maybe worth 3 stars. The amount of effort you have to spend trying to keep everything straight is enough to give the book 2 stars. Confused? Get used to it if you plan on taking on "S." The best advice I can give someone on how to read this book is to find the style that ultimately works for you. I ended up settling on reading a chapter, then returning and reading the notes written on each page before moving on to the next chapter. Ultimately the amount of effort you have to spend reading "S" was not worth the outcome of the story. The end is boring and I found myself wondering why someone would go through so much effort in creating such a unique experience of reading only to end with such an anticlimactic outcome.

This book is an experience on top of a story.

I was surprised by how dense the book was and how difficult it was to read the first few chapters. It's not the kind of book you can read for pleasure on the bus. It also took me a little longer than I expected to be sucked in.

But the story is interesting. I like that there's a couple mysteries happening and you get to figure them out. It was a little like reading LOST though, there were a lot of muddy places to get through but it's an interesting read. It really makes you think and you have to do quite a bit of work to get the whole story.

My son gave this book to me as a birthday gift. He advised me to read the story first and then go through a second tome to read the footnotes and marginalia. To me that was impossible to do because I felt compelled to know what Jen and Eric were thinking while I was thinking about the story. For me this was/is a great novel: the story of S. as he searches for his identity/amnesia; the story of S. as he interacts with the Ship and then the protestors; the story of the translator (cf. the footnotes); the story of Eric and the theft of his dissertation research by his director (Dr. Moody); the advancing love story of Jen and Eric; and then the story given us with the constant references to the "code." The very "look" of any given page stirred my curiosity.

Because of all the marginalia and inserts this is a book you CAN NOT and SHOULD NOT try to experience as an ebook! To see the different items inserted between the pages and be able to hold them and examine them is a really cool experience lost in the ebook experience.
Further, the book is interesting and the interweaving plots create a net that will capture your imagination and leave you speechless and ready to go back for round two to pick up on even more subtleties you missed the first time through.

This is an adventure that you commit to. It is to be read more than once. Please check out Mr. Childs review/guide to the book on how to read it. Then do as you please. Feel free to comment in the margins and pass it to your friends so they may do the same (or feel free to keep this adventure to yourself). This book will challenge you and keep you turning the pages, not because it is the greatest mystery ever written, but because it makes you think and takes you along with it as 'S' lives his tale and our two investigators fall in love in the margins. Brilliant read. Oh and one more thing, along with that pencil, get a rubber band. The book is stuffed with cards, notes, photo copies etc. our two investigators leave for each other.

Okay, so I admit I'm a JJ Abrams fangirl. However, I just got my preordered copy of the book "S", conceived by Abrams and written by Doug Dorst. I'd heard a couple of interesting things about it and am not disappointed.

It comes in a sleeve, and you find out why shortly. The book itself looks just like an old-fashioned library book, complete with textured cover, a Dewey Decimal sticker, and old-style font on the cover. Even the binding is very...well, stereotypically library-bookish. While the whole work is called "S", the 'library book' is called "Ship of Theseus", by VM Straka.

The inside continues the illusion; lightly stained inside cover, a 'stamp' that reads 'Book for loan', and I swear to everything, I think it even smells like an old book. Not a new Barnes and Noble smell, but a worn library scent. I may be crazy on that point, but I'll take it.

As I said, I just got it. I'm not far in. Maybe twenty-five pages or so, but that doesn't matter; I'm completely hooked. There are two things going on (possibly more). There's the 'book', then there's the conversation going on in the margins. Two distinct sets of handwriting are talking, one starting with 'Hey, I found your book and returned it to where the 'if found' line said, hope you don't mind that I read a little first. loved it'. Paraphrased, of course. The second voice continues, 'Go ahead and finish it' and gives a spot for the first person to leave it when done.

These margin notes continue through the whole book. Then there's the inserts (the other reason for the sleeve). The first one that appears is a letter in German that looks like it was poorly mimeographed (remember that, kids?) and has a second page translating it into English. There's over a dozen pieces of ephemera like this; letters, notes, a napkin. Each piece seems to be randomness until its meaning becomes apparent.

This is going to be as much of an experience as a read. I love that kind of stuff. I'm recommending this to everyone that likes a little extra story in their story.

(This is also the first physical book I've bought for entertainment purposes for a solid year. I've been much more of an e-book reader, but I couldn't pass this opportunity up.
[Edit: I realized this isn't entirely true. It's the first physical _novel_ I've bought in forever. Gaming books are the exception.])

And no, there's no lens flare.

This book is a challenge to read, but well worthwhile. My first impression, like others here, was how am I going to read this thing? It has inserts, and hand-written notes from two characters reading the book just like me, and the story itself, the book per se. I ended up reading each chapter, then backtracking at the end of each chapter to read the notes that had been hand-written in. Very much about identity and who we are, and the mystery of finding and building and deconstructing ourselves - a 4 star. But beware, not an easy read. Set aside the time each night. It's not one for a page or two here and another one later. Enjoy!

Even with that as the background, the book is a bit overwhelming when you try to tackle it. There are all the clue pieces, the dialogue between Eric and Jen and then the story itself. I was having a tough time trying to read the story and the banter while keeping it all together in my head. I decided to pull out the clue pieces(catalog the pages they are stuck between, it's important) and just read the story ignoring Jen and Eric. It's hard to do but I think it helps. The idea being I will read the story first, as Jen did, then go over it a second time reading Jen and Eric's banter at which point the clue pieces will be introduced. This will give me a greater depth of knowledge when trying to put the clues together.

I have not completed the story and don't want to drop any spoilers so this review is more of a guide book on how I thought the best way was to tackle the mystery. I'm sure other people will have different ideas and my plan may change as I progress so I will add updates as I move through the process.

If anyone reading this has a better ideas or thoughts to share please comment below, would love your feedback.

Ian

EDIT:
1) If you elect to read the book as I am(story first), DO NOT read Eric and Jen's banter. Clues are dropped that you will not want revealed.

I was really looking forward to this book and at first I quite enjoyed it, but as I read more of it I found the suspension of disbelief harder and harder to maintain. The two protagonists who communicate with each other primarily via the pages of the SoT novel became steadily more boring and juvenile as I progressed through the novel and I could not relate to them or their quest at all. No tension was provided and in the end no real resolution of the underlying mystery of who wrote SoT and why, who the current day members of S. are and why they are after these two idiotic academics and their sappy puppy love story. By the end I didn't care much any more either.

I finished it, but it was a struggle. The idea behind this book was interesting and I thought it had potential, but it remained unrealised. Which is sadly typical of so many of the projects JJ Abrams gets involved in.

As a product, S. is great. The concept is ingenious and very well realized. The materials included are of exceptional quality and the in-line notes are creatively positioned. And honestly, with the number of positive reviews out there for it, I can’t say outright that a potential customer should pass on it. It’s just really that cool. However, the actual story (stories, to be more accurate) is a total mess. First, there’s the Ship of Theseus novel. The novel starts strong, and continues to build until about the halfway point where it decays into meta-metaphorical sludge. Basically, it becomes only a text that Jen and Eric (the note takers) use to spin off of. Second, there’s the mystery of who is V.M. Straka, and the relationships between all the Straka candidates and the translator. This is by far the most engaging part of the text, but eventually fizzles out and gives way to the weakest component: Jen and Eric’s budding romance. Their back and forth commentaries initially focus on the text and subtext of Ship of Theseus, but as they get to know each other, become more about themselves and their relationship, and the passages referred to arbitrary. What’s worse is the repetitive and juvenile way their dialogue is written. The characters feel much younger than they are intended and their love for each other seems immature, at best. This all culminates into what may be the biggest let down of anything I’ve ever read. Certainly people will disagree, but my wife and I strongly shared this feeling of incompleteness. The book also happens to be very hard to read, both literally and figuratively. In many ways, the difficulty is rewarding. At first, digging back through the passages and trying to put all the pieces together was great fun. Connecting all the characters and strange names and places together really made the book feel like a living text. But it didn’t hold up, sadly. It became tedious and felt somewhat of a chore, and by the time I turned the last page, I felt my final impression would have been better had I put the book down unfinished. A comment on the writing before I move on: it’s well done. This may have been a near impossible task set down before Doug Dorst, and he came pretty close to pulling it off. My only criticism is with Jen and Eric’s ‘love notes’ and the occasional over attempt at literary depth in the novel. Otherwise, solid writing.

A totally enjoyable reading experience. Loved it.

Wasn't sure at first HOW to read it and I settled on reading SOT one chapter at a time and then going back and reading the footnotes and margins for each chapter after that. It worked well.

I might have liked a few more answers to some of the mysteries that were just hinted at or not addressed at all, but the book was clear those were not all going to happen so to be upset with that would be admitting you are incapable of reading or just so immature you can't handle if things don't always go your way.

All of the levels of the story worked and were engaging and well done. Can't wait to read it again

S by Doug Dorst and J.J. Abrams is more than a novel that you read; it’s something that you have to experience.

Inside its box, S consists of a novel, Ship of Theseus, by the fictional author V.M. Straka. Its copyright date is 1949, the cover is of antique design, and its pages are worn, faded, and stained. There’s even a library catalog sticker on the spine. Within its pages is not only a novel, but notes in the margin: a conversation between two strangers, Jen and Eric, as they discuss the book.

V.M. Straka is the author’s alias. In truth, no one knows who he is. His identity is an enigma, as is the identity of the book’s translator. The novel itself is an allegory of his life. It’s about a man who wakes up with no memories and no identity, stumbling through life and driven by forces beyond his control.

While the novel is interesting on its own, I would’ve rated it 3 stars out of 5. What truly makes S shine is the story in the margins. Jen finds Ship of Theseus in the library with Eric’s notes in it. She makes some notes of her own. What follows is a back and forth discussion as the two theorize the hidden meanings within the novel, learning more about each other in the process. They even leave scraps of paper, postcards, and pictures tucked into the book for one another. It is a mystery story, a love story about V.M. Straka and his translator, and a love story about Jen and Eric, all rolled into one.

What makes it difficult to read is that these notes in the margin are not in chronological order. First of all, they use different colors based on when they are writing:
1.Eric writes his initial notes in pencil.
2.When Jen first picks it up, she uses blue ink, and Eric responds in black.
3.In future notes, Jen uses orange, and Eric uses green.
4.Later, Jen uses purple, and Eric uses red.
5.And their final notes to each other are both in black.

Further adding to the complexity, these notes from different time frames are interspersed throughout the book.

When I read it, I went page by page, reading first the novel, then all of the notes in the margin. While it was cool to get the foreshadowing from future notes, it was thoroughly confusing. Once I’d finished the novel, I went back and read the orange/green notes, then went through again and for the purple/red notes, and finally one more time to find the black/black notes.

While I cannot say this is the best novel I’ve ever read, I can say it is one of the funnest. I felt like I was there with Jen and Eric, picking up the book and reading along with them as they ruminated over the clues and mystery that is V.M. Straka. I highly recommend this novel, if not for the story itself, then for the experience of reading it.

Let me start off by saying I was really excited when I first got this book. The concept was neat, the story seemed promising, and the packaging was exciting. The novelty and fun of it wore off about halfway through reading. At that point, I wanted to just read to the end to wrap things up... But guess what? There is no ending! That's right, folks. Never have I walked away from a book with this many plot holes. Not that I need everything tied up in a perfect bow... but still, I want some answers. The problem with this book is that the point of it is to completely waste your time overanalyzing it. Rather than give you all the answers, they want you to analyze it, decode things, etc... The problem is, the authors don't really give you much to go off of, and as far as I can find on the internet, no one has quite figured this book out yet. So am I really going to dedicate the rest of my life to overanalyzing an inconsequential work of fiction to discover answers about people and places that don't really exist? No, I don't think so.

This book is not for people who are looking for a quick, easy, enjoyable read. If you have no life or are looking for a new hobby, then this book is for you! You will enjoy the challenge that surrounds this book of overanalyzing every word to try to understand the answers to the questions the book initially raises. If you are a college student or angst-filled teenager angry at the way your life is going, angry at your parents, or looking for a little romance, then you will enjoy the marginal notes of this book. (Which, by the way, also end with plot holes!) Or if you're that sort of person that enjoys the irritation of having inserts (which add absolutely nothing of consequence to the plot of the book, but are merely marketing gimmicks) fall out of your book while you read, then I can tell you this book doesn't disappoint!

I'm so sad that such a promising and creative book proved to be so disappointing. I started off being so enthralled with the story, but after having read the whole thing, I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend this book to anyone.

This book was classic JJ Abrams; open up a lot of crazy mysteries and then fail to coherently answer/wrap up most of them in any satisfying way.

I was excited when I got this book as a gift, but as I trudged through reading I couldn't wait for the day it would all end. I really only finished this book because I received it as a gift and would have felt bad not finishing it. In classic JJ Abrams/Lost style the book has quite a large number of mysterious things going on and questions that could use answering; you keep reading thinking "Oh, I'm sure they'll explain how x happened; or who y is?" and then you get to the end of the book and it doesn't really happen. Actually one of the last "inserts" in the book kind of is just a huge cop out that basically says forget about the mystery and stuff; seriously.

If you love JJ Abrams and his brand of ask a lot of questions but provide limited and unsatisfying answers than this is probably the book for you.

What It's About: The book is really two stories progressing at once. The book is designed to look like an old library book, a book called Ship of Theseus by a mysterious and controversial author named V. M. Straka. The novel is about a man who wakes up not knowing who he is and is dragged onto a ship where he encounters strange things. Then, when the ship crashes, he washes up on land where he is caught up in something no one with amnesia could be prepared for.

The book is also about the storyline running through the margins of the book. A college student named Jen and a rejected graduate student named Eric are trading the book back and forth, having conversations in the margin. They're trying to uncover the mystery behind Straka and developing a relationship at the same time, but it's clear that this search is putting them in danger.

Why I Read It: I love the work of J.J. Abrams. I realize he only came up with the concept of the book, but his commitment to mystery has always been something I've really been drawn to. I found a new author that I enjoy in Doug Dorst.

What I Liked About It: Everything. The way the book is designed. The stories are full of mystery and suspense. S. is this really interesting character because he doesn't know anything about himself. He's a complete enigma. The way Eric and Jen's story plays out in the margins is done really well. I wondered how it could be pulled off, but it was definitely pulled off really well.

What I Didn't Like About It: It's a great concept, but it can never really be done again, at least in the way that it's a new kind of experience. This isn't a flaw in the book. It's just disappointing for such a good storytelling experience to end.

Review copy provided by Mulholland Books

Disappointed.
This book has such a fabulous concept—and it’s beautifully designed and created. I had high hopes that it would be something special. Alas, while the physical book is spectacular and the premise is extremely creative, I finished the book and had no idea what had happened.
The Ship of Theseus storyline never grabbed me, got downright psychedelic crazy at times, and contained no resolution to a single mystery within. Did I miss something?
As for the story of VMS and FXC, I personally chose not to spend the time figuring out the codes that were left for us readers to figure out. So perhaps that was the issue. But, frankly, the story never grabbed me enough to give me the desire to make the effort. There were too many characters for me to keep track of and, again, I didn’t feel like spending the energy to try. I never cared about either the true identity of VMS nor about FXC. And the footnotes were irritating and disruptive.
The story of Eric and Jen was the most interesting yet it was difficult to keep track of at times without reading it in several takes and, guess what, again I didn’t feel it was worth the time/effort to go back and do that because I didn’t care about either of those characters either.
Do you sense a theme here? Bottom line: It’s sad that after such an effort was made to produce this multi-media experience, it left me feeling dissatisfied and angry to have wasted the time I did spend plowing through it. Hmmmm—same way I felt at the end of LOST. I should have known better. I will not bother with anything with J. J. Abrams’ name on it again. Lesson learned.

Just bought this book and started reading and could not put it down. I had to figure out my style of reading this book so it made sense to me and came up with reading a page of the novel and then the notes on the margins immediately after and then go on to reading next page and following suit. Interesting concept of having two stories within one book going on simultaneously and isn't as confusing as I first thought it would be. I am up to 80 so far and am totally immersed in this book. If one needs some further clarification of what is going on I would suggest checking out this website dedicated to the this book.

[...]

This book is fantastic! I haven't yet finished- not for lack of interest but because there is so much detail and care and artistry put into every page I want to take my time and enjoy every bit. It is definitely not for a reader who wants to cruise through a story, but rather a complicated experience with multiple stories occurring at different times. I've never seen anything like it. I usually have a stack of ten books waiting on the self for me to get to, but this one bypassed the stack as I had to read it immediately! Would definitely recommend this book- I can't say enough how much I'm enjoying it so far!

J.J. Abrams came up with an idea that --- for diligent and committed readers --- will be greatly rewarded for.

This not so much a novel as a puzzle unfolding live in your hands. It is marketed as an old, library book that two College students have been trading notes back and forth in. The author of this mysterious novel, known humbly as S., may have been doing much more than creating a mere novel and the two students will put all they know and have researched together to uncover the hidden messages.

S. is not for the casual reader. The need to participate makes this a lot of work to get through as you are performing double duty by not only reading the context of the old novel but also the copious notes written along the margins of every page (including everything from maps, photos, external articles, etc.).

Not a one-sit read but a lot of fun for those adventurous readers who make the commitment to this material and concept.

S. started off with a lot of promise - I cracked open the book and immediately thought of House of Leaves, a quality example of the metafiction genre that S. finds itself in. The artifacts peppered throughout the book are fascinating to look at, and the book feels like a lived-in artifact aside from a few issues that test your devotion to its artifice (those margins are suspiciously large...).

The plot starts to come to pieces about halfway through the book though. Twists and turns are thrown in for no apparent reason, and the story collapses onto itself completely. The book is a fun read and shouldn't take too long to get through, but don't expect it to hold on to any lasting merit. If you want to read a book like this, try Pale Fire or House of Leaves instead.

If it's a puzzle, it would be helpful to understand what the goal is. Well, it doesn't. Very creative, but pointless. The use of the wheel is unexplained. Why would someone go to the effort of writing a book, without explaining the goal. I bet he is laughing at people's frustration. Even the blogs, have be unable to explain the book. It's all supposition. Too bad, the idea had potential.

Despite the complex and convoluted plot developed in the book and the margin-notes story, the writers seem unable to successfully end the stories. It's a bit like the TV show "Lost"...lots of different plot lines and inexplicable events, but in the end it seemed the writers have written themselves into a corner and could not find a way to end the story and tie-up the loose ends. If the ending of "Lost" bothered you, then you'll pull your hair out at this book.

Additionally, I was disappointed that despite all the "mysteries" in the book, there really isn't any mystery or cipher to solve; and certainly no 'answer' is revealed or a denouement.

So an "A" for creativity, but an "F" for writing and plot resolution.

Loved S. by J.J. Abrams. I loved the experience of reading this book with the notes and postcards and all the messages in the margins. It took a little while to get used to it, but I looked forward to the notes between Jen and Eric. Some people may see that as a gimmick, but it was a bit like finding a diary. Well, a really cool diary involving an intriguing mystery. I loved it. I felt that this was a very different reading experience and that I was racing to solve the mystery with Jen and Eric. It will make a great movie. It felt like a very visual experience.

Something this original doesn't come along every day. And not only is it original, it is really well constructed and brilliantly written. Ship of Theseus could have stood on its own, so it's a solid foundation for the book as a whole. Jen and Eric and their notes and romance add this modern twist to the starkness of the underlying novel. I did have to read through the sections more than once and this is not an easy read by any stretch, but it is well worth the effort.

Although I haven't yet finished reading this, I can honestly say it's one of the most unique books I've ever picked up. It's full of surprises and forces you to really choose how and what you're going to read on each page, and how to digest it. I can't wait to finish it!

I tried to make excuses for the college kids' marginalia, for the gratuitous inserts, and for the footnotes.
I tried to tell myself this is supposed to be brilliant. It didn't work. Focus on the primary story and you've
got a tale on a different line from Poe's, but with a similar trail of descent, until these guys turn it into
an absurdist James Bond movie. Pym is a lot better. A lot!

It's not enough to call this a "book", really it's so much more. It's full of hand-written notes, clippings, post cards, and all sorts of fun bits that fall out on your lap when you open the book. There's the story in the book, but on top of it the story of two students figuring out an important, and dangerous, riddle about the authors identity.

Don't obsess too much about the order of things - there are a few good guides here in the comments on ways to read this book, but no matter how you do it, by the time your a hundred or so pages in, you'll figure out the best way for you. Have no fear, everything will make sense - piecing it together is the fun of it.

I found myself reading and re-reading everything several times just to savor the experience, and for the enjoyment of knitting together the conversation of the two students who are communicating through handwritten notes left in a book on a library shelf. The perfect antidote for too much time staring at your iPhone by the way.

I'm not an academic, but the "mock" literature of VM Straka is authentic enough for me to pass for the literature I read through in my college days - so the premise that Straka is an important and controversial author holds water. And the grad student notes are so well done, I am totally lost in the moment - it feels like I am holding the actual book, complete with the dewey decimal reference number on the spine - the printing is so well done on my copy that it looks like an original. I am totally immersed! Well done!!

If you are an avid reader, appreciate literature, a thriller, or especially took lit classes in college or even high school, I think you will love this book. It is a one of a kind as far as I know - if there are more attempts at this kind of multi-media 'book', I'd sure like to know in the comments.

Like most of you who would go through the trouble to read comments here on the store, I have read many many books in my life. I can honestly say this is the most fun I have ever had with a book.

Let me be clear: I am only 60 pages into the book having read the extensive forward and I am now part way through Chapter Two. ("For those who don't know, this is the first Straka book to have Chapter numbers." )

Others have already commented on the original way in which the book is presented so I not focus on that element except to say, WOW!. This is definitely not meant to be an eBook and like others, this is the first fiction book I purchased in paper format in over 2 years. (Wow, to think it's been two years since I purchased a real book)

What I want to focus on is how you can read this book and why it is such a bargain. Normally I power through a book. I often pick up a book and sit for hours reading it, convincing myself that I will stop at the end of the next chapter, but never do. So after only a few days, my book is done and ready to be donated. This book is different, it is a slow read. Or better yet, it is a thought provoking read. Understand, I am engrossed and want to continue, but at the same time, I feel compelled to reread parts.

Given the format of the book, I am considering various ways to read the book. Do I read it page by page? Do I read SoT first and then the margin notes page by page? Do I read the margin notes in pass/color order? What about the inserts, they need to be read when directed by the margin notes. Except for the wheel which I haven't figured out yet, maybe I should stop and play with it a few days. So in the end, I will probably end up reading this book multiple times, thus my belief that this book is a bargain.

I have already read chapter one twice, or should I say I read chapter one along with the margin notes, then went back and just read the margin notes. (Unlike Jen, I haven't had time to read any other Straka books).

If my assumption is correct, as an added bonus, I expect an internet based tie-in. The margin notes have mentioned information on the appearance of the 'S' symbol at various locations being cataloged on a danish website. Based on how well they have designed this book, I expect them to actually point us to that website in future chapters. Just imagine being able to extend the book even further. (BTW: I already checked soonyouwillknow.com and it isn't there)

I totally agree with not knowing how to read it. I finished chapter one having read it somewhat page by page, except when I had to jump to page 10 as per the margin notes. Now I am considering going back and reading just the margin notes. I may have to read it a 3rd time to do the notes in color order. This is really a fun book to read, but definitely not for someone who just powers through a book.

I haven't been this passionate or involved in a book for years. The stories of Eric and Jen, Filomela and VMS, and S. and Sola are complex and intertwined, and I was spellbound. This is one of those books that you can read for hours on end. The structure of the novel not only makes the book take many hours to read (which is positive in this case, because I didn't want it to end) but allows readers to reread the book multiple times in order to understand it fully. This is simply a masterpiece, and I don't throw that word around often.

I have to say this was original and satisfying. It's essentially a story within a story within a story. Wasn't hard to keep all the characters and story lines in order at all. I'm 100% satisfied with it. I also love all the inserts(letters, pictures, postcards etc.) I feel that is a great way to bring the story to life. Highly recommend.

I am some eighty pages into this thing and doubt I will go back to plod through more of it. Not for a while, at any rate. Let me be simple about this: my eyes are not up to reading tiny, scribbled marginal entries, part in script part in print (and multi-colored inks, meant perhaps to covey revisiting at later times), or earlier dulled out, faded, penciled commentary, to say nothing of very small-print footnotes. Perhaps other, sharp-eyed readers will have better luck with these, but I think it was an intended problem -- that is, the authors meant you to struggle with these as with just about everything else in this book. The various papers, and even some sort of cardboard locator (or whatever it is) device, interlaced between the pages, but removable, though the risk is one might have been meant to read these at the time and in the order originally placed, relevant to this or that aspect of the underlying mysteries, are a another distraction. Very few of these convey anything of importance or interest to the reader. Indeed, is any of this "important" at all? The trick of this book is its multiple story lines between unrelated sets of people, one in the underlying, badly conceived and badly written pre-WWII novel (autobiographical, it seems, about some obscure, curious, multi-cultured, possibly adventurous writer, of uncertain sexuality, now, presumably, but not certainly, dead) and the other in the margins of that novel by two romantically inclined student readers and commenters on the mysteries concerning the old book and its author, and, of course, on each other, at a dull regional college of some sort. These lines are displaced in time, but sometimes echo or resonate with each other in odd ways. Reading back and forth between them is at first amusing and engaging, but it takes a lot of work. Too much, in my view. Ultimately, it becomes excruciatingly tiresome. In part this is because it is hard to be interested in any of the figures we are reading about or in what they undergo or do. Boring, to be frank. Both lines of the story (or stories, I suppose) being told are, to be blunt, banal -- but the banality was no doubt intended, as if we need more of it than we already have. We are subjected to this to engage us in unraveling mystery after mystery, piece of information by piece of information, onionskin layer by layer, for some unknowable ultimate end or ends -- search for the author of the underlying novel is one, but probably not the only one. We are supposed to delight in this jigsaw puzzle for its own sake, I suppose, and not particularly because, if put together properly, we will like or care much about the resulting picture. Does any of this move or educate you? I doubt it. And perhaps it was not intended to. Overall this construction is way too ponderous to do more than amuse occasionally. A complex, over-long comic strip. In the end, it fails to hold one's attention -- mine anyway.

I'm not even sure where to start. When I first heard about this book and first picked it up, I was OBSESSED with the concept. I barely knew anything about it, but I knew enough to play its game and pretend that I am a reader who happened upon this book in a library - which started off as a lot of fun. Unlike a lot of reviewers (who apparently knew more than I going into this) I read a page and then read the notes in the margins. This was a disjointed process and took me out of the "Ship of Theseus" story, but that was perfectly fine with me because the margin story was the more exciting one, initially. It quickly lost its appeal once it became about two incredibly whiny college students who have HUGE victim complex problems. Honestly, if you ever met Eric or Jen you would completely hate them - they are the two most unlikable characters in the history of literature. I can't tell who I hate more, Eric (who reads things like "S. took a nap" and then writes next to it "THIS OBVIOUSLY REPRESENTS THE FUTILITY OF LIFE. meanwhile you're thinking bro maybe S. was just tired) or Jen, who sees "S. took a nap" and writes "OMG HE SHOULD BE TAKING A NAP WITH HIS ONE TRUE LOOOOOVE!!!!!") But somewhere along the way I realized that I hated them so much because they seemed like real people to me, and that I was sucked into this story in a new way that I hadn't even anticipated. So when I finished with the ending that completely went nowhere, I decided it was ok to appreciate the book for what it was instead of wanting it to be something that it wasnt.

Which gave me an idea. After reading a lot of these reviews, and learning that there is backstory to this book that you kind of have to do yourself, ive decided to make myself part of the story. Im going to do the research, print off some pages, and jam those pages back into the book with some of my thoughts in the margin for good measure. Then, I'm going to pass it off to my partner to read and hopefully it will be a completely different experience to him. Because there is something about this experience that really grabbed me, and I want to share that with someone else the way jen and eric did. The problem is, I have no idea where to start. Apparently there is a bunch of info out there that is being released and I would love to know what other people wished THEY KNEW when they started reading this book. So any help would be greatly appreciated!

I may be the only person who read the book page by page and cover to cover instead of repeated readings. I really enjoyed reading the story and notes at the same time, especially with the hints and clues that were obviously added at a later date by the characters. I considered them clues and foreshadowing rather than spoilers (a term I actually hate for it's overuse.) However you decide to read the book be prepared for an intricate and intriguing tale woven with past and present, fiction and "reality"...very much like watching a JJ Abrams' series.

I just got it and I am hooked. I showed it to my wife and she immediately thought it must have cost $100. I do not know how they can sell it for only $20. It's great fun. I have only gotten to page 50 and am anxious to see what is on the next page, but wanted to write this review so I could tell other readers about it.

If you liked "Lost" and "Fringe", you'll like this.

Both stories are fascinating and the "extras" tucked in the book are delightful and important for furthering the story. Parts of the novel can be a bit hard to follow, but that will make re-reading that much more interesting. Also, some of the bits that are confusing make you really have the impression that the novel is being discussed by scholars who are, indeed, students of an author with whom you are not yet familiar.

My only complaint? I will talk about this book to all my reading friends, but I won't be inclined to loan it out! I don't want to risk any of the loose articles to be lost!

This is a very interesting book. There are so many ways to read other. It's not a "fast" read at all. It takes time but if you are a true book lover it is worth your time. It reminds me of a book I loved (and still have) as a kid called the Jolly Postman & Other People's Letters. If you have the time to read it I would recommend it!!

If you liked Lost, you'll like S. But if you didn't like Lost, you likely won't like S. Multiple stories are woven together keeping the multi-tasker fully engaged (romance of two grad students, mystery of the book's author, and the book it self). Many questions remain at the end of the book, so if you like a neat and tidy ending, this is not the book for you.

J.J. Abrams, who is credited as the “creator” of S., is indeed that J.J. Abrams, best (and, up to this point, only) known for his work in the digital video media. Doug Dorst, who is credited as the author, is highly regarded for his short stories (THE SURF GURU) and the genre-bending ALIVE IN NECROPOLIS from a few years back. Familiarity with the work of either or both gentlemen will not prepare you for the experience of S.

S. is more than a book. It is a book, mind you; it comes in a slipcase that bears a paper seal with an enigmatic inscription that slowly becomes important as you read the book. The slipcase in turn is shrink-wrapped; I will confess that I had to struggle mightily with myself to defile the package by unwrapping it. The book inside is not S. by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst; it is rather a library-bound book titled SHIP OF THESEUS by V. M. Straka. It contains two stories, one of which is SHIP OF THESEUS proper (more on that in a moment) and the other of which is set forth in the margins and between the pages of the book literary. The notations in the margins document the correspondence between two university students, who may or may not be named Eric and Jen.

What is between the pages? All sorts of things: note pages, postcards, photos, napkins, letters, and, in the back, something that I believe is called an “Eotvos Wheel.” Now you know why this volume comes to you shrink-wrapped; it looks like my desk sneezed into it. All of the material included, from the margin notes to the detritus tucked inside to the paper seal, is important. Or maybe it isn’t. It is absolutely delightful to behold, more fun than you’ve had with a book since GRIFFIN & SABINE by Nick Bantock, though you certainly won’t confuse S. with that work in any way, shape or form.

So what of SHIP OF THESEUS proper? It is presented as a library copy of a volume --- right down to a Dewey decimal sticker and a back page full of “due date” stamps --- published in 1949. It purports to be the final work of the aforementioned Straka, an enigmatic author who shunned not only the limelight but also any light at all --- think J.D. Salinger without the outgoing personality --- and who was, by repute, a mysterious revolutionary known by his significant body of work and the even more significant weight of rumors that swirled about him during his lifetime. Straka, it is said, disappeared before he completed SHIP OF THESEUS; the final chapter was finished by the equally reclusive F.X. Caldeira, who was Straka’s longtime translator but in fact may have been Straka himself.

The story told within the book concerns a stranger in a constantly shifting city, one in which geometry is out of whack, who is kidnapped and taken aboard an equally bizarre ship with a horrendous crew. The journey works as a story --- I was reminded, for some reason, of the fever dream tone of Jack London’s THE STAR ROVER --- but, as the marginal notes demonstrate, it is more than a work of suspense; it is perhaps a coded parable as well. No one, however, is really sure, least of all the readers who survive until the end.

S. --- which is comprised of the totality of the book, the notes, the pseudo-detritus within, even the slipcover --- makes demands upon the reader. One needs to take time and patience to get from the beginning to the end, but it is a work --- a truly analog piece of work, inspired by an artist known for his digital creations --- that is designed to be read and experienced. I won’t hesitate to call it a literary toy for adults, and I use the word “toy” in its best possible sense. Anyone who has ever picked up a book to read should have S. on their bookshelf, just to experience it. First, however, you will have to remove the shrink wrap.

-Joe Hartlaub

Yeah, me too, J.J.

I keep showing this book to people, and it's so much fun to watch their faces when they see what's inside and and touch the spine to test the authenticity of the library sticker.

The printed novel, about an amnesiac wanderer, captures the tone of the Important Modern Novel with no irony or mockery, and no heaviness. The characters revealed by the handwritten margin notes are lively and interesting. They read like the message board you always wished you were on--anonymous yet personal; pithy and clever and satisfying. These two elements are pieced together with gleeful attention to detail (both visual and structural).

This was written by Doug Dorst, based on an J.J. Abrams' idea. The weight and the look of the thing, and the artifacts between the pages mean you have to read slowly and hold it carefully. You have the thrill of buried treasure while reading it. I didn't think I could feel so curious and, yes, romantic, about a book before I even knew what it was about.

Anyway, enjoy the delicious, irony-free, mass-produced nostalgia that radiates off everything J.J. Abrams touches.

A fascinating experiment. There are multiple voices the reader has to interpret. Among them are the author of the fictional book "Ship of Theseus," whose work was filtered through his translator, and then the two readers, one a college senior, the other a disgraced grad student. Their marginalia traces three distinct periods as they communicate through the marginalia and various notes stuck in the pages, trying to determine the true identity of the secretive writer. The two learn through their discoveries about the author and his inner circle that the mystery is less important than the people with whom you share it. Abrams and Dorst's entire project is ambitious and requires a certain level of dedication, but the character development of the two readers is interesting and worth it.

It's a marvel to read something so "out of the box" among so many predictable reads.This is vastly innovative story-telling--all with curlicues and notations leading to an intriguing collaboration. I had a hard time setting this one aside. And I so welcomed the cleverness and ultimately, where it leads, the story within a story--The Ship of Theseus.

First, the actual novel therein, "Ship of Theseus" contains some nice dark imagery and mystery. I think the backstory of the author and mysterious group "S" actually hamper its' development. It feels like it only exists to justify the rest of the concept.
Second, Jen and Eric are terrible. We are talking Edward and Bella type terrible here. These people are supposed to be a college senior and a grad student, but they come off like whiny, self-pitying teens. I was hoping one of the mysterious organizations alluded to in the book would finally show up and murder them. Spoiler alert: No such luck.
Overall, two stars for the production and theme. No stars for any of the stories or characters.

This is a superb novel. "S." was conceived by acclaimed director J.J. Abrams and penned by award-winning 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 don’t understand. The novel works best on the human psyche if you allow yourself to become as engrossed as the characters in the novel are portrayed as being with the book as it was found by each other. How Abrams and Dorst manage to adapt the use of lens flare into each climactic scene in the book can be a bit distracting but in no way takes away from the general artistry of the novel.

"S" is like House of Leaves, but positive, full of conspiracy that gets the pages turning, but also full of a love story (or two or three), and worth every penny of its price. I find myself at the end of the book, not feeling like it's really over, and wanting more, wanting another book by the enigmatic fictional author of this work, V. Straka.

I realized partway in that I should be disciplined and read it in order of the sequence of commentary, but couldn't put it down :) Did it remind anyone else of Nick Bantock's works? It did me, in a good way. Writing a whole novel, of course, is very involved but then one could say the same about Bantock's art. The mystery and the correspondence captured in the books, along with the ephemera, really evoked Bantock to me.

I haven't enjoyed a new book this much in years. Picked it up from my local library (the librarians there hate it; they had to tape in the extras and they still fall out) and loved it so much that I am definitely going to be buying this one.

A lot of people seem to think there is a specific way to read this book, but I think it doesn't really matter. Half the fun of this book is that it's so re-readable, picking up on things you missed or didn't notice the first time. Personally, I just gobbled the entire thing down in one go, recognizing the time shifts represented by the different ink colors used by Jen and Eric but reading through each and every set of notes as they appeared on the page. It was amazing!

This book was an experience! And just SO. MUCH. FUN. If you're an avid reader and an appreciator of any kind of literature you will LOVE this book.

O' irony of ironies!
Starting with MST3K, and transferring into the capabilities of the Kindle, one of my greatest pleasures in dealing with media, especially print, is the facility of adding my own commentary, observation, and reaction to it.
Here we have a book based more or less on the premise that two people meet and fall in love in response to each other doing just that in the margins of an old library book, and, unless I want to deface my own copy, I can't 'join in'!

The book itself is a lovely, a brilliant, work of art. But the story, stories really, are quite simple.
In the margins, two very intelligent young scholars dissect a literary phenomenon and fall in love while doing so, facing danger and discouragement and relying almost solely on one another to succeed.
In the text, a fable unfolds that seems to mirror events in the real world, which their elusive author has turned into a sort of dream-sequence fable of good vs. evil.

Spoiler Alert:
That book's story can be summed up as, "power corrupts, etc", "surrender is betrayal", "love is all that really matters, or is all, in fact, that is 'real'".
The story in the margins can be summed up pretty much the same way, and the two tales intertwine,…ummm…"conveniently".
There are numerous websites "discussing and interpreting" these two stories, and one would be well-advised to suspect that at least some are as fictional as the book.

It's at least somewhat enjoyable, I suppose, but I can't sustain the notion that it's worth letting it become your life for a month or two (or longer, as the 'marginal' characters do). A good deal of the stories' resolutions is an exercise in inference.

Or perhaps I'm just grumpy about vagaries, such as never seeing the point of the last insert, the Eotvos wheel. There are references online about it being explained, when you need to use it, but I didn't find that to be the case.
In fact I challenge anyone to tell me what it was used for, and where the book directs you to do so (and please don't bother to reference pages 3 or 270, where the wheel is mentioned as obliquely as I've just done).

In the end, the book is about one "S" short - at least that might imply "so-so".

This book gets five stars for the experience, for the total lost-in-a-book feeling that it invoked. There are a number of ways that this book can be read, and I may try one of the others when I read it again, but, now that I have finished, I am glad that I read it the way that I did. I took it as it came: Page upon page, notes of all colors, ephemera, and all. I may read better stories this year, but I don't know if I will get this much shear enjoyment out of reading a book for a long time to come.

I have sludged through this book enough. I'm putting it aside. Why? I just don't care. I don't care enough about any of the characters to want to find out what happens. I was really excited to get this book and was very impressed by it's presentation. I dug in with gusto but that enthusiasm has since departed. It just seems gimmicky. The marginalia at first was fun but then I realized what an inefficient and silly way that is to communicate. The whole thing seemed juvenile. Perhaps I'm being too harsh as a result of being disappointed. So 5 stars for presentation but only 3 for the story. And in the end it's the story that counts.

My favorite TV shows are J.J. Abrams shows (Alias, LOST, Fringe, Alcatraz, Revolution, Person of Interest, Almost Human), so I was very excited when word first broke that he was coming out with a book.

I was only able to get through 200 pages of S. before deciding to put it down. Reading it felt like a chore: first, read the book, then go back and read the handwriting in black/blue ink, then go back and read the handwriting in orange/green ink, etc. In addition, based on other reviews on here, as well as what I've read on [...] you don't really find out an answer at the end of the book. Instead they're continuing to release information, and you have to scour the Internet for additional information. While others may be interested in this scavenger hunt, I am not. I don't want to finish a book and not have closure, only to find out that additional information has been released a month later. When I'm done with a book, I'm done with it. I move on to the next one. If it was a good book, I'll revisit it down the road. I don't want to have to keep checking some website because new information has been released.

I give it three stars for creativity, but this is one time where I won't jump on the Abrams bandwagon.

I am completely engrossed in this book. I read the book story from start to finish in about a day because it was just so involving. I find the margin story just as intriguing, but I seem to be having trouble keeping all of the inserts in order (despite my avid paper clipping). Could someone please post a list of the inserts and what pages they belong between? Pretty please I can't find it anywhere.... Otherwise this book is fun, interactive, and a mystery on so many levels. It reminds of a classic book we had to analyze in English class (and I mean that in the best possible way - like it's the one book most people in the class actually enjoyed reading), with a cheat sheet/love story on the sides.

The book represents a fun concept. "Ship of Theseus" itself is a good read, and the notes passed between Jen and Eric in the margins lead to numerous fun and interesting moments which add to the experience. When the book works, it works very well. But be prepared to push your willing suspension of disbelief to its limits at other times.

I haven't finished this book yet but god im so annoyed by it. I cant figure how to read it properly and yes i am intrigued by both stories but its just a pain to go through. Ive had this book for over 6 months and i still cant get myself to finish it

The shear novelty of this book kept me going forward, but truth be told it is a bit of a slog. I couldn't read more than 8 pages at a go. Perhaps literary historians and librarians may find the book more interesting than I did. I found much of the side text story to often be highly extraneous, random and leading nowhere, while the main story was merely average.

Great idea, and unique formatting. To be honest, I was much more interested in the Ship Of Theseus story than I was with the S story. The story in the margins lacked a spark, and I was not very interested in it. SOT was amazing though and kept me interested the entire time.

The book feels and looks amazing. But...

Help--the first thing that happened upon opening the book is that one of the inserted items fell out and I have no idea what page spread it belongs in! If anyone has cataloged these items it would be a great help to make it public!

UPDATE: An email to the author Doug Dorst was promptly returned (see email from Mr. Dorst below) with a link to a readers' blog where the contents have been cataloged ([...] Also, as I began reading I found that the margin conversation clearly references the item that had fallen out.

Here is the email:

Hi, Ken--

There's a readers' blog at [...] where they've compiled a list of the objects and their locations. They're doing a thousand other fun things there, too, if you're interested.

We made specific choices about where to place the objects, but we also understood that, well, things fall out. So don't worry too much. In most cases, there's a direct cue in the margin notes.

Hope that helps. Enjoy--

Doug

This book is probably one of the best books I've ever read. I'm only on chapter 3 and its so interesting and mysterious and nothing like I've ever read I just had to give it a good review. I like how they make it look like an actual library book and how they've added such detail work to the pen markings of Jen and Eric. Its almost like I'm apart of their story too and I think that's one of the best things about books is being outside your world if only a moment. Im not a lit expert or anything close to it but im a absolute nerd when it comes to reading and i love this book! Would definitely recommend this book!

An amazing concept - who hasn't picked up a book, only to be fascinated by the writing in the margins by owners long ago - now take it to the next level, and actually correspond with that anonymous "author of the messages in the margin - the thrill, the anonymity of it all - but who is the stranger, and why are you compelled to write, to answer, to lay your inner most thoughts within the margins? Does it endorse our existence, justify our sense of being? Then what what does it say about us all? I promise you that this will be one of the most fascinating, challenging, adventurous and wondrous experiences you've ever had with a book - there will be times you love it, other times you will hate it, and surprisingly, many times you'll have those polar feelings at the same time - you will not be able to put it down, and it's memory will linger with you long after you put it down, if you ever do!

So I think I made a mistake. I read this all in one shot and I don't think that's how I should have read it.

J.J. Abrams had a clever idea about reading a book and seeing a couple writing to each other in the margins of the book. He turned to Doug Dorst to pen the story within a story.

S. is a story about Jen and Eric reading Ship of Theseus by V.M. Straka. Jen and Eric are trying to figure out who Straka is. (turns out he was a mysterious author with a mysterious past) Ship of Theseus is about a man who can't remember who he is but finds himself in the midst of multiple events of death and (again) mysterious consequences.

I think the best way to read this clever story is to read Ship of Theseus by itself and trying to ignore the writing in the margins. Once you finish Straka's book, go back and check out the margin notes and the plethora of "inserts" that Jen and Eric leave each other.

I think the idea was good but I couldn't really get into either story. There were moments when the mystery man in Ship of Theseus gets into some crazy action and I was glued to the tale. But then he would jump back into the water, get located by the ship and things would die down and become incredibly boring. I understand that Straka's style of writing is of a bygone era but most of that tale was hard to slog through.

Jen and Eric's story (their interaction with each other) follows a similar growing-excitement-only-to-be-let-down. I was getting geared up for an unseen chase by villains who are setting fires but instead it disappeared. Did I miss something of that plot line?

All in all, I will absolutely read this book again. There are clues and codes spread out. It is a J.J Abrams concoction remember. But I was very disappointed with S. I enjoy a good mystery but I never connected in a way I was expecting.

And even though I didn't like it, I'm hoping for more from these two.

Okay, I'm going to be 100% Honest with you. MY REVIEW IS ENTIRELY PERSONAL! There is nothing wrong with this book. The idea is cool, but THE EXECUTION IS ALL WRONG! For starters this book will only be interesting to a certain kind of person (preferably English Literature students or anyone HEAVILY involved in English Lit), I'm not the demographic for this book. So why'd you buy it then, Ugo ? Good question. Well I thought I was getting something VERY different than what I got. So with that being said, let's get to the review.

THIS BOOK IS ABOUT THE IDENTITY OF V.M. STRAKA! THAT'S IT! THAT'S ALL! Doug Dorst said he was inspired to this book based on The Shakespeare Authorship Controversy and The B. Tavern Question. If I had known this, I wouldn't have brought this book as I don't think that concept is solid enough to hold my attention, and it unfortunately I was right. This would have been tolerable if the novel "Ship Of Theseus" was interesting...and unfortunately that's the worst thing about this book. I found it bland, pallid and void of depth. As someone who's used to reading Stephen King, I'm used to being able to engage and relate with the characters I'm presented; I could not relate to S, and none of the characters he encountered felt real enough for me to even care about. Also the pacing of this book is really weird and the structure of it completely sucks. Certain plot points seem to pop up out of nowhere and you're not sure if you should be paying attention to them and then when they do resurface it feels forced.

As far the world of the margins go, Eric and Jen are ONLY interesting when they're not talking about Straka, because after awhile it just becomes repetitive and annoying. As the novel went on, I slowly came the horrific realization that this entire thing was ultimately going to morph into a love story...and I was once again (unfortunately) right and I could have done without it. There are no stakes in the novel, nothing is at risk and nothing will be gained nor lost if The Straka Question is ever answered. The novel tries and fails MISERABLY at attempting to add danger and menace to the story, but by the time that started happening, I really couldn't be bothered to care.

The other materials that come with book aren't important at all and in my opinion don't add much. Also, you're given a decoder wheel but not given any instruction on how to use the darn thing. And I know some of you are going to tell me I should check the website and the other materials linked to the book, however I'm of the train of thought that I shouldn't need ancillary material to understand anything (basically, if I NEED X to understand Y, then they should've included X with Y) and if the materials with the book aren't enough to complete my reading experience then the author has ultimately failed. My review boils down to this, if you're interested in debates about "Who REALLY wrote Shakespeare's plays?" then this book is for you. If not, then pass. Because my reading experience concluded with me being incredibly annoyed and really not caring about anything I've read.

Okay this is a review for those people who aren't aware of Lost, Fringe or JJ Abrams (Like me.)

This book was a giant letdown. Their was all this hype and in the end it was like My Dinner with Andre inside a existentialist novel. I couldn't imagine what I found more dull; The VMS novel Ship of Theseus, Eric and Jen's tiring investigation into the Identity of VMS, or the mysterious people closing in on Eric and Jen.

So after three hundred and fifty pages I found there is no revelation as to the point of 'S' and I just gave up.

A bunch of margin note conversations between two troubled people in a uninteresting book penned by an equally uninteresting 'Mystery Writer' called VMS who may have belonged to some secret society of uninteresting and unsuccessful revolutionaries.... with items crammed in between pages (Photocopies, Postcards, Secret Decoder Wheel, Napkin, Letters.)

I don't recommend this book to those who wanted to read a psychological thriller, mystery or adventure story.

You have been warned. If you think the book will get better turn back and throw this book off the Ship of Theseus immediately. As bad as the book is the margins are even worse. You get to the point you look forward to any page without margin notes. As bad as the margin notes are that deal with Jen and Eric's relationship, the notes and footnotes that relate to the 'mystery' of Straka are even worse. You can't even keep the various author names straight Ekstrom?? Must be a code name for excrement which must be related to what the 'S' is code name. There I figured it out this book is a piece of 'S'.

This is the first book in a while that I had to buy as a book and not an e-book, and I love that. It's one of the most brilliant forms of storytelling I've seen in a long time. This is a book that commands engagement like nothing I've ever seen. I'm hooked.

Tedious, dull, monotonous, and mostly uneventful. It is especially uneventful, so if you are expecting much of a story you will be disappointed.

I was so excited to purchase and read this book. I have really enjoyed the few books that wave tried this format. I was so disappointed.

There are 3 basic story lines.
1) There is the main story of the book written by V. M. Straka. I generally love "mysterious" stories. This story is just plain boring and tedious. After a while you just don't care.
2) There is the story of Jen and Eric writing in the margins. This story is so repetitive and slow moving that it is hard to really care.
3) There is the story of the mysterious author, V. M. Straka, and his real identity. This story is the real underlying plot. This plot line moves so slow and is so complicated by numerous possibilities and distractions that it becomes tedious. This story is the only thin excuse to keep reading, but ultimately it is not enough.

I am angry at myself for spending so much time on this book. I kept reading thinking "something must eventually happen to justify all this effort". Not much ever happens. Don't waste your time.

I'm one of the readers who haven't read the book yet but am already reviewing it, BUT I have read the forward and see the layout and it seems so interesting!
I was super excited for this book and I actually went out on the street while the mailman was still giving his mail to the other houses down the street and asked him for mine (I know, impatient much?). When I opened it, I got even MORE excited. Felt like a total geek because the book is bigger than I thought it was going to be and I didn't know about the inserts so when i took it out of the sleeve a couple of them fell out, but luckily someone was nice enough to post all the page numbers on one of the reviews here (thanks, again.) and I was surprised to see that it actually looks, feels and even smells like a library book (the library sticker is on point!). Anyways, I am in the middle of another book (Allegiant) and am generally a slow reader and I am really looking forward to reading this, but am confused as to how I would tackle it, just like I see some of you having the same problem. If you don't mind, After you finish the book (to the reviewer, or anyone reading this), would you mind telling me the best way to read this book? Should I ignore the margin and clues/inserts and read only the book and then go back and read the notes or vice versa or at the same time? Thanks!

This book was pure torture. I advise everyone to avoid it at all costs. It was a complete waste of my time. I finished it simply because of all the glowing reviews and because it was a gift from my husband, but I should have stopped reading long before finishing. I don't understand how anyone could have liked this book.

If you like being over promised and under delivered by Abrams; this book is for you. Or if you want to relive your Disappointment with the wrap of Lost, this will make you feel it all over again.

A brilliant concept, creatively marketed and poorly executed. The idea was great, the story line starts off intriguing and then becomes a murky, convoluted, distracting mess. The marginal characters are just that; flimsy and mediocre. The entire storyline (Theirs and Ship of Theseus) wraps up without so much as a quiet murmur.

Like many things, the beautiful wrapping does not go skin deep. Sorry to have to report its a near miss.

This is the worst book I have ever read. Ever. And I've read Crime and Punishment (all 8 million pages). I thought nothing could surpass the awfulness of Dostyovsky. S. is a self-indulgent trip through crazy land. Abrams is trying to pretend to be a high minded academic, but the novel doesn't cut it. I love to read, but I would burn this book and all its silly inserts if I hadn't thrown it away already.

If you haven't shelled out the $$ to buy this book yet, don't bother. This book is BORING - only surpassed by Foucault's Pendulum. If I want to read something that is literary and depressing, I'll read Cormac McCarthy. At least McCarthy's books have some suspense in them. I took the advice of others and read The Ship of Theseus first. Once completed, I figured the suspense and intrigue would present itself in the margin notes. What a letdown.

NO no no no no no no. Just no. Listen. 4.5/5 stars? No. Please read below for all the details that actually matter.

There are few, if any reasons this book - nope not even... this awkward pile of gimmicky directionless acid trip (in ONLY the worst ways) should be read by anyone. Here are the reasons in descending order of importance:

#1. If you want an example of how to imitate parts of an intelligently layered, dark novel (Song of Ice and Fire series) and a meta-thrilling suspenseful diary (House of Leaves) and a haunting tale of amnesia (Slaughter House Five) in a way that is flimsy, rushed, shallow, random, and unfulfilling than please please please read this book.

#2. If you think reading books should be more like the experience of going to mcdonnald's when you were five and getting a cheap worthless play toy along with every heaping helping of empty calories you struggle to digest, than boy o boy your stars have aligned tonight - dig in! (yes I am insulting the book inserts, they are so bright! and different! o la la! this book is a "love letter to the written word!" STOP ALREADY. This book is a tragedy, that line is propaganda, and these inserts are a marketing ploy. At least that's what they were until this review is listed as most helpful. Hopefully soon all three will be no more than dead to the world.)

#3. Did anyone miss the irony that the fantastically vapid main characters, Jen and Eric, were literally marginalized through the whole book?? HA! No, what you all did miss was the irony that these two monkeys, the champions of literature, were actually forced in their imaginary little world to admire the worst book possible. To relish more of this at your own expense and frustration, please read the whole book.

#4. So like you want to have a kid but let's be real, they don't stay cute forever (if they ever were). What about when they get to their teenage years? When its just one mess after another. Fragmented stories and half-baked excuses. Seemingly random life decisions. Relationships that just pop out of no where. Never even attempting to tie up loose ends. Or even give you an idea about how to tie them up for them. Just leaving you with all of their baggage as its all no harm no foul off to college with your liquidated investments. Care to sample that sentiment? Please read.

#5. And lastly. For the bright heart or the true masochist. For the one that thinks this is all pessimistic folly or for the one that just wants to shove their brain through a long web of barbed ideas. This farce is for you. Every chapter is a backflip to nowhere. Every symbol is empty. Every question is irreconcilable. Every footnote is tedious. Every annotation is dull and/or cloyingly love-sick. Every insert TRULY IS a marketing ploy. Embark or embrace as it suites you. But before anyone leads you down the rabbit hole to find the true meaning to a lost identity that the loser doesn't even care about losing, just know, KNOW that you knew that hole had no bottom - right here - right now. Now then, please read.

Perhaps if the fiction of two terminally isolated people passing a book back and forth a thousand times wasn't so in your face ludicrous this book might have had a chance. But then there's the story. Yawn. Where was I

If I could give this book less than 1 star I would. I really thought it would be an enjoyable read. I was tricked by the ratings other buyers gave this book. Waste of my time.. One of the worst books I read

I was so excited to get this book but when I unwrapped it the off gassing from the book was so bad it made me sick to my stomach and left me gasping for breath. :-( I have put it in my garage for the next 4 months in the hope I can one day tolerate it enough to read.