Ship of Theseus or S. "is the unusual result of a collaboration between two unusual people. Abrams has written, created, produced,or directed dozens of films and television shows…Meanwhile, Dorst’s previous novel, ‘Alive in Necropolis,’ was a runner-up for the 2009 Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award; he’s also won “Jeopardy!” three times.” (Rothman, 2013) 

 

The book consists of a textbook, Ship of Theseus, written by the fictional author V. M. Straka, and marginalia written back and forth between two college students, Jen and Eric, as they work together to solve the mystery of who Straka really is and read the book together. Ephemera such as newspaper and postcards is also included within the book's pages, culminating in a very tangled web that the reader must work through to fully grasp Jen and Eric's story. 

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Many readers of S. suggest reading Straka's Ship of Theseus first, then going back and reading Jen and Eric's notes along with it. Others say tackling the whole beast at once, slowly, will do the job just the same. Either way, S. is quite the puzzle for readers to comb through.

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(Image credits for this page go to Amazon [upper left] and ResearchGate [lower right])