I finally cut the tape on the S. sleeve and pulled out the book itself. And after thumbing through the book I’m smiling from ear to ear. Of course there are certain concessions that have to be made to pull the format off, though the cover and bindings do feel authentically ‘old library book’ish. There aren’t even any ‘real’ ISBN numbers anywhere in the book itself, it remains true to the conceit from cover to cover. This work needs J.J. Abrams’ hands and scale of production as it is the physical object, the book itself rather than the writing that is the star. The only thing it is lacking is the authentic old library book smell. Yes, the first thing I did when opening a book was smell it. That perhaps more than anything I think gives an idea of what they’re aiming for.
I’m guessing you haven’t run across If On a Winter’s Night, A Traveler. Calvino did it long ago…though the actual physical artifact sounds nicely done.
I had barely heard of it in passing, i think. There are similar works like Only Revolutions. These sorts of things are basically new to me, so i’ll see if and how much i go for S.
If on a winters night a traveller is a real masterpiece, but I don’t think it really fits these other more exploratory works. The reading of Calvino’s book is much more linear, even if the content is extremely meta fictional. If you enjoy these kind of things (even without the physical production) stuff by South American writers like Cortazar and Borgues could be of your liking. Rayuela is specifically very interesting, structure wise (basically, you are asked to read the novel several times, reading chapters in different order).
Is the Borgues you are mentioning Jorge Borges? In the US they spell his name Borges, but I’m hoping you mean somebody else I could discover and read :)
Yes, IOAWNAT is more along the lines of Cloud Atlas (Mitchell has acknowledged the influence) in terms of having nested/intra-referential narratives in an array of genres, but not really doing much with the book as a physical object.
If you enjoy these kind of things (even without the physical production) stuff by South American writers like Cortazar and Borgues could be of your liking. Rayuela is specifically very interesting, structure wise (basically, you are asked to read the novel several times, reading chapters in different order).
Staying in the European canon, you should also check out Tristram Shandy (which does play with the book qua book), The Life and Opinions of Tomcat Murr, and The Third Policeman/The Dalkey Archive.
And if Gonzalo Torrente Ballester was translated, La saga/Fuga de JB is also a pretty interesting read (Spanish, so European canon, or at least he should be dammit!). Not book within book, but book of books and very in debt to Tristam Shandy. It’s also very Thomas Pynchonish.
If I was rich I would attempt a translation. Alas, I think it will remain Spanish only for the foreseeable future…
I read S. I did not like it. I wanted to, but the main story Ship of Theseus wasn’t super interesting and the meta-narrative wasn’t strong enough to hold it together.
My daughter just bought this book and I have to say it looks intriguing. Full of handwritten notes and inserted “handouts” (as I would call them as a DM). The production quality is fantastic.
Funny because I was basically about to write this and to find out that it was written already nine years ago kinda works with the thread.
The concept is good but I agree that neither the framing novel nor the fictional readers are strong enough to carry it. Whoever did the inserts and printing did a wonderful job.
It became clear to me about 75% of the way through that it wasn’t going to make sense on it’s own. There was some web ARPG or whatever you call it that we’re supposed to carry it on,(twitter accounts and websites) but they apparently just petered off. I don’t think that mysteries need to finish with a bow but I would argue that it’s fundamentally impossible to come up with coherent explanation for any of the metafiction narrative that makes any sense even if you hand waive the need to record the everything in the margins of the book when the plot itself makes it ludicrous to keep happening.
Ultimately this is because the author is simply a teacher at a state University and JJ likes his mystery boxes. Neither are really capable of fashioning the content that would be required to uphold the book’s conceit; but one provides a lot of purple prose and the other provides a first class set piece. It’s ultimately “cosplaying” as a great work of literature and a turn of the century international man of mystery, rather than being one, and that’s fine enough.
The meta narrative isn’t even anything about the plot, the writing or the characters themselves: it’s the act of going to the library, of rummaging through the works of old and forgotten library books and uncovering the secrets within.
