Yes, I finally finished my first (I started over again around chapter 2 – I just got discouraged) read through of Ship of Theseus*! Whew! What a really good book.

The main story is amazing. It’s a story about S. S wakes up on the banks of a strange city, with no memory of who he is, or where he came from. He walks into a bar, orders a drink and sees a beautiful woman reading a book. He walks over and sits down with her. From there, he’s shanghaied and thrown on to a boat.

The boat itself is a mystery too. It’s very old, and has been repaired many times, and is crewed by 19 sailors – who’s mouths are sewn shut. I really can’t say more than that, as it all unfolds slowly at times, and sometimes so quickly, you have to go back and reread a few pages to see if you missed something.

That’s the beginning of Ship of Theseus by VM Straka**, and it only gets better. This is his 19th book published in 1949.

Then, there’s the second story in the book. The story in the margins between Jen and Eric. This is where reading can get very confusing and difficult. This is where I started to get discouraged. There’s just so much information to absorb on each page

See that picture above? That’s a pretty average page. There’s a few with even more writing, and then some with only sentence or two.

Jen found the book in the stacks in her university library where she works. Eric has written in it since high school. She gets sucked in to Straka’s world and his 18 other books he published. Ship of Theseus is his last book, published after his mysterious death. Jen and Eric get to know each other through the book, and through researching who Straka was and who his translator was.

* I have a feeling to get through all the stories and mysteries, and all the added items in the book. I know I’ve only scratched the surface of this amazing book.

** I know Straka doesn’t exist. S. Was the brain child of JJ Abrams, and written by Doug Dorst. I prefer to think Straka was real, and I’d love to read his other books.

This book comes in a black slipcover, and that’s really the only part that says that it was written by Dorst, and Abrams. When you slide it out of the slipcover, it’s fashioned to look like an old library book complete with check out stamps.

This is a book lovers book for sure. I sure love it.

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