J. J. Abrams and Doug Dorst’s S. is a Cult Classic in the Making
“Follow the monkey.” — Ship of Theseus by V. M. Straka
There’s no question that J. J. Abrams is one of the most creative forces in Hollywood today—anyone who was a fan of the television series Lost or the new Star Trek movies knows what I’m talking about. There’s a glorious feeling of unbridled innovation in everything he does—Super 8, Cloverfield, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol—and how many millions of Star Wars fans are dying to see what he does with Episode VII, scheduled for release in December 2015?
The guy is a creative genius—and now the renowned director and producer has set his sights on the literary world.
The recently released S. (conceived by Abrams and written by Doug Dorst) is unlike any novel you’ll ever read. To call the concept behind this project ambitious would be a vast understatement—the amount of work that must’ve gone into creating this multilayered literary artifact is simply mind-boggling.
Inside the black slipcase of S. is what appears to be a beat-up old library book titled Ship of Theseus, published in 1949 by V. M. Straka—“the prolific author of provocative fictions, novels that toppled governments, shamed ruthless industrialists, and foresaw the horrifying sweep of totalitarianism that has been a particular plague in these last few decades.” Many of the pages are stained, the spine of the book has an old Dewey Decimal sticker affixed to it, and—I swear to God—it even smells like it’s been sitting on a dusty library shelf for years! But within the margins of the browned pages are hundreds of notes—it is, in fact, an ongoing dialogue between two complete strangers (Eric, a disgraced graduate student and Jen, a college senior) who have found each other within the pages of this obscure library book. Additionally, hidden within the pages are numerous items (letters, postcards, maps, etc.) that tie in with the unfathomably deep literary puzzle that has entangled both of them.
The identity of the (fictional) author, Straka, is cloaked in mystery: scholars have been trying to unravel the uncertainty surrounding his life and death for decades; it’s been called “the Twentieth Century’s most confounding literary mystery.”
As readers immerse themselves in Ship of Theseus—an allegorical work of literary fiction that follows an amnesiac man known only as S. as he is abducted, placed on a nightmarish ship where all of the crew members have their lips sewn shut, and thrown into a grand-scale revolutionary plot featuring strange voyages, surreal characters, assassination attempts, and a multitude of conspiracy theories—they are also pulled into Eric and Jen’s burgeoning relationship within the academic confines of Pollard State University. Eric (whose thesis was on Straka and the significance of the highly symbolic Ship of Theseus) has had his potentially groundbreaking discoveries effectively stolen by his morally bankrupt advisor. Now, expelled from the university, he is trying to secretly complete his work while also attempting to figure out what he’s going to do with the rest of his life. Jen is just months away from graduating, but, disillusioned with the world and her future in it, she is also at a crossroads.
Equal parts literary mystery and intimate love story, this is not so much a novel as it is a singularly unique multisensory reading experience. Readers will hold the cloth-covered book in their hands, smell its musty pages, discover the various items hidden within—and live vicariously through Eric and Jen as they analyze the novel’s contents, unlock its secrets, and connect their revelations with the events of their own lives.
Book nerds of all kinds, particularly those who have degrees in literature, will love this bibliophilic treasure, as will (of course) fans of J. J. Abrams. Powered as it is by symbolism, hidden clues, codes, literary riddles, and unforgettable imagery, this has all the markings of a cult classic in the making.
A word of warning: don’t drink the black wine and stay far away from fish hooks and monkeys.