How to Read “S” aka Ship of Theseus
Last summer, the “book within a book, within a book” went viral on Booktok. And it’s been making the rounds again. “S”, also known as “Ship of Theseus” by JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst, had been sitting on my shelf for probably six or seven years—a Christmas gift from a colleague. I knew it would be right up my alley with its annotations and inserts, but I’d just never gotten around to reading it. Maybe the time had come to take it off the shelf…
When my TikTok post got a bunch of comments from others who also wanted to read it, I decided to see if people were up for a Buddy Read. And it turns out, there were a lot of people interested in reading it together! My first hosted casual buddy read had inadvertently started.
“S” is a complex book, so it can come across as an intimidating read. And the first question everyone seemed to have? “So…how do we read it?”
Now, this may seem obvious for book readers. I’m hearing Maria’s voice in The Sound of Music sing: “Start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.” However, as I started researching, I realized there were a number of ways to approach reading it. And even within the Marco Polo chat I’d set up for Buddy Readers, people were talking about the different ways they were starting to tackle it.
So if you’re here because you too want to experience this special book, I’ve compiled below some of the best tips and tricks for making your read of “S” the most enjoyable experience. Ultimately, art is subjective, but this is my recommendation.
WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING:
This is not just a book. “S” has four sets of annotations in different ink color combos, as well as the novel itself, written by a “V.M. Straka”, the foreword and footnotes written by an “F.C. Caldeira”, and includes codes, and finally, all the inserts.
But who was Theseus and what’s the big deal about his ship? If you’re not familiar with this hero and the thought experiment, here’s a quick summary:
"In the metaphysics of identity, the ship of Theseus is a thought experiment that raises the question of whether an object that has had all of its components replaced remains fundamentally the same object. The concept is one of the oldest in Western philosophy, having been discussed by the likes of Heraclitus and Plato by c. 500–400 BC."
On the Thought experiment:
"It is supposed that the famous ship sailed by the hero Theseus in a great battle was kept in a harbor as a museum piece, and as the years went by some of the wooden parts began to rot and were replaced by new ones; then, after a century or so, every part had been replaced. The question then is whether the "restored" ship is still the same object as the original.
"If it is, then suppose the removed pieces were stored in a warehouse, and after the century, technology was developed that cured their rot and enabled them to be reassembled into a ship. Is this "reconstructed" ship the original ship? If it is, then what about the restored ship in the harbor still being the original ship as well?" From the Wikipedia article on Ship of Theseus
A conundrum indeed…
Have I mentioned this book really makes you think? This is another reason why I’d recommend reading it with a group, or friend. There are so many things to talk through as you go along, and multiple layers of mystery and metaphor.
Oh, and that EOTVOS wheel in the inside flap? You won’t need that right away, so don’t worry about it until you get into the annotations.
MY RECOMMENDED READING ORDER:
Everyone enjoys reading differently. So while there is no wrong way to read “S”, I personally recommend reading the entirety of the novel, “Ship of Theseus”, including the foreword and footnotes first, then reading the annotations in color order all the way through, reading the inserts as they are referenced in the annotations. A few people in my Buddy Read suggested the audiobook of the novel, so as not to distract yourself with the annotations and inserts. I loved this suggestion!
I was able to find the audiobook on Hoopla (a free app connected to your local library, or you can get it on Audible). It doesn't have the "Translator's note & Foreword" in the audiobook, so make sure to read that first.
The reason I recommend this way of reading is if you try to read everything chapter by chapter, you’re going to get a fragmented view of the multiple stories, and it’s extremely difficult to comprehend what’s happening in an already confusing story—especially because the annotations won’t be in order. It’s a bit like watching a movie you’ve never seen before with the cast commentary on. Too much noise.
By reading the novel first, and then going back to the annotations, you get a clearer picture of the main mystery trying to be solved, and you get to see two love stories unfold in a really beautiful way.
THE READING ORDER FOR ERIC AND JEN’S ANNOTATIONS:
For a bit of background (no spoilers!), you’re reading Eric’s copy of “Ship of Theseus”, a former literature grad student (yes, that will be explained!). He accidentally leaves his copy of “Ship of Theseus” in the library and it’s picked up by Jen, a literature undergrad, who reads the book, and leaves a bunch of notes before putting it back on the shelf. Eric sees the notes and begins writing back to her, and they start to puzzle out the answers behind V.M. Straka’s life.
You’ll notice right away, Eric and Jen have very distinct penmanship, so it’s easy to distinguish between the two. Below I’ve shared the order by color, and again, I would recommend reading each color combo all the way through, then starting at the beginning of the book each time. Trust the process.
To throw one last wrench in, Eric also has some thoughts of his own written in pencil—you can read those at the same time as the novel.
1. Dark Blue ink (Jen) and Black ink (Eric) – These are Jen’s first notes and thoughts on the book, and their start of analyzing “Ship of Theseus” together. It’s the “meet cute”. They’re just getting to know each other, and they are determined to break some of Straka’s codes.
2. Orange ink (Jen) and Green ink (Eric) – Some editions show Jen’s in orange and some in red. Mine is orange, so I’m going with that here. During your read through for these annotations, you’ll notice there’s more personal information they share with each other, some banter, but they’re also still honed in on uncovering every aspect and move in Straka’s life.
3. Purple ink (Jen) and Red ink (Eric) – Here’s where the love story starts to really unfold. Top tier banter between Jen and Eric, as well as nitty gritty details of their research on Straka. They’re sharing a LOT more personal challenges, and potential dangers they may find themselves in as a result of continuing their research on Straka, and his translator.
4. Black (Jen) and black (Eric) – This is the very last set of annotations we have from Jen and Eric. There’s not very many of them, so you do have to go back and hunt for them, but they’re so worth it.
OTHER RESOURCES I FOUND HELPFUL:
I hope you found this little guide helpful, and I wish you a fun read. While I found the novel portion confusing, and a bit of a slog to get through, Jen and Eric’s relationship was my favorite part of this read, and if I were to pick this up again, I’d probably just do a read of all the annotations again. Take time to soak in all the details, enjoy the snarky comments in the margins, and ultimately, the mystery behind V.M. Straka.
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