It is also abrams and dorst s love letter to the written word. Revolving around the last book of a fictional author. Marginalia, notes or scrawls in the margins of a book, have always intrigued me. I remember reading some column earlier this year about being older and not having your mind blown as often when it comes to music or books o. S is a fake artefact, much like the monster movie cloverfield, which abrams produced in 2008 and which used found footage. From the outside, it looks like an old library book, called ship of theseus and. See more ideas about jj abrams, abrams books and stranger video. Abrams, byname of jeffrey jacob abrams, born june 27, 1966, new york city, new york, u. Abrams and written by awardwinning novelist doug dorst. Nov 06, 20 in this video, i will be unwrapping the brand new book by jj abrams and doug dorst. List of inserts courtesy of tess315, pictures courtesy of patmc4fun. It would be a book set within the scribbled margins of another book two novels unfolding at the same timeand it needed a writer.
Abrams and dorst have crafted a multilayered story. Dec 22, 20 earlier this month i wrote something about s. Abrams and written by awardwinning novelist doug dorst, is the chronicle of two readers finding each other in the margins of a book and enmeshing themselves in a deadly struggle between forces they dont understand. Plus jj abrams wrote it well i found out its his idea and doug dorst wrote it.
Sep 22, 2014 what makes s a collectible even more than the sheer beauty of the pages covered in handwritten marginalia and wellcrafted inserts is that it is not merely a book. Straka a fictitious novel, with an equally fictitious writer. So that we see moments like her really coming down on him with one of the blows that takes him down. Abrams has produced, directed, or written films and. Summit that bad robot productions had made a deal with valve to produce a film based on either the video game title portal or halflife. Abrams got his first job in the film industry at age 16, when he scored the lowbudget sciencefiction film nightbeast 1982. In these times of kindles, nooks, and ibooks, a novel like s. Abrams and dorst executed an amazing novel that must by read in print and encapsulates the true joy of the tactile reading experience. Abrams the book itself is designed to look like an old public library book, titled ship of theseus, that s been written by someone called v. Now i use the term book loosely because this really is more than just a book, but more of an interactive. Straka s enemy, lover or even the author himherself. The book is so perfectly realized that its easy to fall under its spell. This book is very meta, by which i mean there are 3 levels of story. Straka, complete with different publishing details, like winged shoes press, and a dewey decimal library sticker on the spine 8.
The core story is the book itself, ship of theseus by v. The force awakens 2015 abrams s father was a producer of madefortelevision. It is composed of the novel ship of theseus by a fictional author, and handwritten notes filling the books margins as a dialogue between two college students hoping to uncover the authors mysterious identity and the novels secret plus loose supplementary materials tucked in between pages. It s a lot like house of leaves because reading the book is an experience in itself and requires some effort from the reader. Straka a beginners guide to reading s the letter from desjardins to eric husch. The novel is unusual in its format, presented as a story within a story.
Abrams and novelist doug dorst, is a story within a story within a story. On the one hand, they are the literary form of graffiti, vandalisation of the printed page that shows a writer undermining or mischievously subverting the primary. The book of thesus with beautiful inserts jj abrams poetry ideas. As they say in abrams hollywood, it s so crazy it just might work financial times a book you long to share with others metro astonishing mark lawson, bbc front row. It s a really cool concept the book is made to seem like it s an old library book called ship of theseus, and two students are writing back and forth to each other in the margins. Lindsey weber, head of film at abrams s hit factory. The book, originally owned by eric, a university graduate student was temporarily. Jj abrams known for directing the star trek movies and doing pretty much everything on the tv series, lost came up with the idea when he found a book on a park bench with a note that said. The names more than a dozen people who helped realize it.
Mark lawson finds authorial controversy and romantic scrawl in an imitation library book. Abrams in october that turned out to be a novel written with doug dorst. Ereaders may be lightweight and useful but they cannot replace the feeling of turning the pages in a book and the exquisite packaging of s certainly makes a strike in favour of the. All of these categories hint at the unique design concept which makes this book the amazing piece of work that it is and with jj abrams yes, that one as the cocreator, it s not a shock. A must for lovers of mystery and filmmaker jj abrams. After books should first log in so it s easier to locate your contributions later the content on this site is organized into three categories what this software calls namespaces, to reference the three basic textual levels or worlds in which content exists. The first number is the order of the inserts, the second number in parentheses is the page number it can be found, third is the title or main identifying feature of the insert, and the last phrase is a description of what it is. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. J abrams, 9780316201643, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Written by doug dorst with input from film producer j. Oct 29, 20 the chronicle of two readers finding each other, and their deadly struggle with forces beyond their understanding all within the margins of a book conceived by star wars. It is composed of the novel ship of theseus by a fictional author, and handwritten notes filling the books margins as a dialogue between two college students hoping to uncover the authors mysterious identity and the novels secret plus loose supplementary.
Abrams and doug dorst, may be the bestlooking book ive ever seen. Ive alternated, but that gives me the worst of both worlds. List of accusations against straka on pollard state university note paper. The author and novel are the fictional creations of mr. His graphic novels have the emotional wallop of a philip roth or thomas. On september 9, 20, it was announced that abrams would release a novel, s. Such is the suspicion raised in the reader by the books many tricks that the idea rapidly takes hold that. Abrams came up with the concept and shared it with lindsey weber, who recommended doug dorst. Straka a fictitious novel, with an equally fictitious.
Abrams s major contribution to the project is to have come up the antihistorical concept of an analogue interactive book. Seasoned readers you probably already know everything here so if you want to go deeper, proceed directly to the intermediate guide to reading s. The book, originally owned by eric, a university graduate student was temporarily misplaced, and found by jen, an undergrad student working at the university library. Dec 05, 20 in this video, i show you where all of the inserts go in abrams new book s because sometimes books come with 20 inserts and gravity can be a bitch. Are you reading ship of theseus, then going back over the notes, or are you reading everything on the page before continuing.
You must make a conscious physical action to enter the book. Although 47 was not in the original star trek series it made many appearances in the series to follow. S includes loose page inserts contributing to the story. So either this is just a run of the mill photo shop owner and jj and doug. See more ideas about this or that questions, s jj abrams and finnegans wake. This post is intended as a short, spoilerfree introduction to new readers of s, a book authored by doug dorst and conceived by j. In case you are one of the readers whose edition of this book has been dropped, or whose library has helpfully removed all the inserts, or youre just plain worried like me that youll never find where they go once the book. It is composed of the novel ship of theseus by a fictional author, and handwritten notes filling the book s margins as a dialogue between two college students hoping to uncover the author s mysterious identity and the novel s secret plus loose. In this video, i show you where all of the inserts go in abrams new book s because sometimes books come with 20 inserts and gravity can be a bitch.
S consists of the fictitious book, ship of theseus by the fictitious author v. S by jj abrams and doug dorst book unwrapping youtube. Ship of theseus, the final novel by a prolific but enigmatic writer named v. Jason asked me when i was about a quarter of the way through. Jj abrams on new book s and filming in scotland the scotsman. Joshua kendall, their editor at mulholland books, put the pieces together. Abrams is a beautiful hardback carefully distressed to look like an old library book with its old book smell and stuffed full of notes, postcards, papers and bits and pieces.
As cool as all the inserts are, trying to keep them from falling out of the book as. Such a book might include inserts or require readers to hunt for clues among pictures or to rotate the spine to keep reading. Nov 27, 20 here is a list of all the inserts for s. The story is about jen, a university undergrad who works at the campus library. Jan 01, 20 im starting to feel this is dorst s way of saying that some footnotes and codes simply have no solution, so that there will always be some mystery to the book, and to not get too worried about it as a reader it s a disappointing realization, but one that is growing on me. It had a note inside informing the finder to read the book, and then leave it for someone else. The chronicle of two readers finding each other, and their deadly struggle with forces beyond their understandingall within the margins of a book conceived by star wars. Sealed in shrink wrapped plastic, unopened, so all inserts should be intact. Abrams had the idea for a book project, one fueled by the kind of unfettered ambition that brings tv shows about purgatorial islands to life.
The book, ship of theseus, is extremely enigmatic, and so is the author, but our readers are willing to embark onto. Ergodic works dont spoonfeed readers the way typical books do. Abramss father was a producer of madefortelevision movies, and the younger abrams followed him into the entertainment industry at an early age by making short super8 movies as a boy. S s page is folded and wet, soaked into an indistinct mass, marked with the gothic s. Dorst, but the book s edgeworn spine, labeled with a faded dewey decimal sticker, is scuffed, and its corners dented. In abrams trademarks imdb lists often makes references to elements of the original star trek 1966 series. What makes s a collectible even more than the sheer beauty of the pages covered in handwritten marginalia and wellcrafted inserts is that it is not merely a book. Straka, published in 1949, which is a story about an amnesiac, known only as s.
A beginners guide to reading s an intermediate guide to reading s by j. Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders. Nov 16, 2017 just finished a very unique novel called s. Its truly a love letter to physical books and a great effort in interactive reading and storytelling. Dec 26, 20 exploring ship of theseus and its marginalia, inserts, foreword and footnotes. The formal conceit of the novel, in which you have the novel unfolding in the margins of another novel, that. The sheer number of inserts makes it difficult to read without markers and folded pamphlets falling out. Someone took all those things out and put it in a pile and read the book then went back to read the inserts. Not only do we get a novel, ship of theseus, purportedly by a vm. The writing is dorst s, but, as we are told on the back blurb, the book was conceived by j. He might, if s is a fictionalized strakait s perhaps a clue to who s is supposed to be, but one he never solves for himself. The hollywood writer, director and producer, and creator of the novel s. After books should first log in so it s easier to locate your contributions later. He believes if he could read those pages, he might discover something of his identity and past.
A beginners guide to reading s thoughts on s by jj abrams. In this video, i will be unwrapping the brand new book by jj abrams and doug dorst. Which is more or less the entire story of jj abrams career. Eric and jen are convinced that the book s footnotes carry coded messages from. Straka, along with its marginalia, inserts, and translator foreword and footnotes. This is probably the most unique reading experience ive had in a long time. A beginners guide to reading s this post is intended as a short, spoilerfree introduction to new readers of s, a book authored by doug dorst and conceived by j. The physical book is part of the greater story, which unfolds through notes in the margin and other material tucked in between the pages. Jan 18, 2019 such a book might include inserts or require readers to hunt for clues among pictures or to rotate the spine to keep reading. Reviewwhen two readers exchange notes through margins in an ambiguous book, theyre plunged into a world of mystery, threat, benefit, and a new relationship. The novel, written in a collaboration between film director j. Oct 27, 20 the hollywood writer, director and producer, and creator of the novel s.