Book Summary and Reviews of S. by J. J. Abrams

S. by J. J. Abrams

S.

by J. J. Abrams

  • Published:
  • Oct 2013, 472 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

This one-of-a-kind bestseller from J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst captures the excitement of solving a mystery like no other book: "Both as literature and as a physical object, S. is a profound and tremendous work of art" (Miami Herald).

One book. Two readers. A world of mystery, menace, and desire.

The chronicle of two readers finding each other, and their deadly struggle with forces beyond their understanding — all within the margins of a book conceived by Star Wars director J.J. Abrams and written by award-winning novelist Doug Dorst.

The book: Ship of Theseus, the final novel by a prolific but enigmatic writer named V.M. Straka, in which a man with no past is shanghaied onto a strange ship with a monstrous crew and launched onto a disorienting and perilous journey.

The writer: Straka, the incendiary and secretive subject of one of the world's greatest mysteries, a revolutionary about whom the world knows nothing apart from the words he wrote and the rumors that swirl around him.

The readers: Jennifer and Eric, a college senior and a disgraced grad student, both facing crucial decisions about who they are, who they might become, and how much they're willing to trust another person with their passions, hurts, and fears.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"The best-looking book I've ever seen... . The book is so perfectly realized that it's easy to fall under its spell... . If you want to write a romantic mystery meta-novel in which two bibliophiles investigate the conspiracy around an enigmatic Eastern European author, you couldn't choose a better team." ―New Yorker

"S. is gorgeous, a masterpiece of verisimilitude... . The book's spiritual cousin is A.S. Byatt's Possession... . The brilliance of S. is less in its showy exterior than the intimate and ingeniously visual way it shows how others' words become pathways to our lives and relationships." ―Washington Post

This information about S. was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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More Information

Emmy-Award-winning filmmaker J.J. Abrams has produced, directed, or written films and television shows including Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Fringe, Lost, Alias, Felicity, Star Trek, Cloverfield, Mission: Impossible, and more.

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Read-Alikes

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