S - Chapter 2

In this chapter we are told subtly yet repeatedly that Straka artefacts are going missing from museums. So this means someone else is either trying to hide evidence or find it before anyone else.

Eric cites fear as the reason he stood Jen up in the cafe. Jen is taking a page out of Eric's aloofness book, "remind me to tell you about the day I disappeared." I hope the two manage to meet in real life and am interested to see how that changes the way the two interact on the page.

Jen thinks FXC is warning VMS about Looper, the agent, Eric thinks VMS was Looper, and Jen has an amazing quote, "How nice that you all got to be wrong together." Jen finds evidence that FXC took a ship from NYC to Sao Paulo in 1959 and never came back. She'd be over 100 years old but could still be alive.

I'm still unsure of Eric's relationship with Ilsa, were they purely academic rivals competing for Moody's attention? We know she gave Eric's Summersby tape to Moody and it was insinuated that Ilsa and Moody's relationship was not strictly academic.

In Ship of Theseus, I definitely feel for S, he is lonely, desperate and confused and yet still worries about a young man on the ship who is injured. His escape plan is foiled only for a terrifying storm sequence to follow.  S. hears a voice telling him to swim and abandons the wrecked ship for land, where I hope he learns some answers.

We see Jen and Eric writing in black ink for the first time since the second page, they reference chapter 10, the chapter wrote (supposedly) by FXC. I'm mad at them for teasing like this, as for us the reader, chapter 10 still seems so far away.

Jen says she is going to NY in 2 months, this gives them a deadline. Assuming she actually goes, does this confirm that all the annotations made by Jen and Eric only span a few months?

The chapters are taking so much longer to read than I initially anticipated, there is just so much writing on one page! I am thoroughly enjoying this book, even though I know there will be so many more questions before we start getting any answers.


_________________

Rebecca x

S - Chapter 1

Where Rebecca isn't paying much attention to the plot of Ship of Theseus, I'm finding myself drawn equally into it as I am to the note makers (I much prefer referring to them as this rather than Jen and Eric) but I must admit that I'm crazy for the notes, It's so difficult not to read them first!

This chapter didn't reveal much more about who Straka may be, or his whereabouts, but was more about us getting to Jen and Eric and their relationship. It did become apparent to me however, that I'd missed previously the age Straka must be now, he would be well over 100 years old and therefore its very unlikely he is still alive or the one leaving the S in the books. But I can still hope! Anything is possible in fiction, right ?

I'm very interested in JJ Abrams choice of names, are they call Jen and Eric because they are generic characters ? Is the point that neither of them are important, but what they're discovering is ? Or am I reading too much into this book and becoming a note maker myself ?
   I've loved finding out more about them, and am finding it very easy to relate to Jen, and recognising many friends in Eric.

Like Rebecca, I'm curious as to what Jen's big secret is ? What is it that she wants to hide from Eric ? I have a feeling its about the break up. Or perhaps she's studied Straka in detail before, which is why she seems to be unveiling clues very quickly.


I can't wait to start Chapter 2!

--------------------

Jessica X

S - Chapter 1

In the first chapter Eric finally reveals his real name after letting Jen believe he is someone else. We also find out he flooded the English Department and was expunged from the school for reasons he is not ready to tell yet. I particularly liked the enclosed newspaper article about the flooding. After Jen doesn't reply, for what I assume was a few days, we see how much Eric needs her input, he begs her to write again.

I'm beginning to really like Jen, she is much more open minded about Straka's whereabouts (perhaps because she does not know as much about him as Eric) Jen is the one finding clues in Caldeira's footnotes.

She believes the footnotes leave hidden messages to Straka, such as the address of a place the two of them could meet. As Jen is struggling with what to do with her life (something we can all relate to) she is throwing herself into this mystery and I, like Eric, hope she doesn't let this jeopardise her school career.

I'm intrigued to know what Jen is hiding from Eric, her yellow pen self admits when she said I've been nothing but honest with you, she was not being exactly true.

Who is this mysterious company paying Eric to continue his research? My immediate thought was Jen, but if that's true where did she get the money from? Could it possibly be Straka or Caldeiria?

As Jessica said, the writing between Jen and Eric is sometimes hard to decipher but I think after a whole chapter I have found a comfortable flow when it comes to reading their annotations.

I think the theories about who Straka is are hilarious, I really liked the one about the little girl who claimed to have written Straka's books, and the long-dead nun she claimed to be channeling.

I love Jessica's suggestion about the S symbol being a message from Straka. The idea that someone else could be reading the book alongside Eric and Jen is just so exciting.

So much of my enjoyment of this book so far has come from Eric and Jen's interaction and the mystery about Straka that I have paid little attention to the plot of Ship of Theseus. In chapter 1, we find out very little and the questions: Who is S? Why can he not remember anything? Why have the sailor's mouths been sewn shut? interest me less than questions about Straka.

I feel like the mystery of Straka is much bigger than just Jen, Eric and Moody and I can't work out if Caldeiria is helping or hindering the race to find out who Straka is.

__________________

Rebecca x

S - TRANSLATOR'S NOTE AND FOREWORD

WARNING: These posts will contain spoilers for anyone who hasn't read the book!

The first thing that strikes me about this book, is the sheer amount of detail that the publishers have allowed this author to go into, as Rebecca says we have many different coloured inks on the pages (that at first I found a little hard to decipher, but I think Rebecca is right, its a timeline of Jen and Eric, rather than new characters or that they've'e changed pen) but we also have the added letter that you can remove to read, not only is it in english, but also the foreign language it was originally written in.

                        The foreign letter included in the book                         The book is copywrited to V.M.Stark and never to 

                                                                                                     JJ.Abrams 

                                          This part gave me actual goosebumps, I had to restrain myself from

                                           flicking through the entire book to find more of them. Is this a message

                                           from Starka ? Is he reading ? Does it mean their assumptions on this

                                           page are correct ?

The story so far seems like it's almost 3 books in one, the story of V.M. Straka (VMS)has written, the mystery of  F.X. Caldeira (FXC) and the notemakers, rather that the original 2 I first expected, and although to begin with it can be difficult to find the flow with reading this book, once you've found it, there's no stopping, it's a page turner like no other, except you're so deeply involved you find yourself rereading very slowly so that you don't miss a thing. 

My theories so far are obviously limited (Rebecca did you have any ?) but I'm so very curious as ti why FXC has written these footnotes. I don't think any of the current ideas the note makers have come up with are the right ones, but its too early to rule them out.

My current theories are:

• FXC is wife/lover/partner to VMS and is either a) trying to hide his true whereabouts b) find him 
• FXC is the murderer and trying to put readers off the scent
• Moody is related to VMS is some way

I'd love to hear what yours are!

--------------------------------

Jessica X

S - TRANSLATOR'S NOTE AND FOREWORD

WARNING: These posts will contain spoilers for anyone who hasn't read the book!



Before even starting Straka's novel, as readers, we are introduced to the mystery of just who is/was V.M.STRAKA?

The annotations from Jen and a mystery reader (although we know his name is Eric from the blurb) help guide us through the opening pages by adding humour and crucial information that we couldn't already know. Eric is a huge source of knowledge on Straka and Jen is the bridge between him and us, asking the questions we all want to know the answers to.

My favourite part so far is how we flit back and forth on the Jen and Eric timeline. When they write in black and blue, it is the first time they are communicating. I think orange and green is a bit later on, red and purple later still and finally when they are both writing in black it could be many years after they first started communicating. The hint we get on the second page when they both write in black makes me think that they are in love by the end or at the very least had a defining impact on each other.

Also, I love how open Jen is from the very beginning, she tells her name straight away and that she has worries about graduating and that she has just been dumped. Whereas Eric is so allusive but I can't help but love his sarcastic charm and like Jen I want to help him.

What we know so far:
Jen is helping Eric so he can stop Prof. Moody cashing in on his work.
V.M.Straka is a bit of a mystery as is F.X.Caldeira the translator (who Eric strongly distrusts)

Are they both really dead? Are they the same person? Did Hemingway really hate Straka?

As Jen says, "and down the rabbit hole we go."


_________________________

Rebecca x

Read with us!

The first book we will be reading together is "S" by J.J.Abrams.

First off, I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but this book looks incredible! A true book for book lovers with pull out letters, photographs and even a compass, I can't wait to get stuck into this story within a story.

From tomorrow, we will be updating chapter by chapter and hope some of you can follow along with us.

___________________

Rebecca x

Welcome!

Hello, and welcome to our blog!

Here, Rebecca and I hope to share with you our literary discoveries chapter by chapter as we read together. We hope this blog can become a book club of sorts, a place to share ideas, theories and thoughts.

We'll be posting individually as we read, and we'd love to hear your contributions via the comments too!


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Jessica X