Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Currently Reading: "Ship Of Theseus" by V. M. Straka (?)


I happened upon this novel while perusing a stuffy used book store and purchased it on a whim. How can one resist such a neat old-timey cover? I had never heard of the author, nor did I bother to crack it open before deciding to buy it. Had I done so, I may have put it back on the shelf because it seems that at least two people (judging from the handwriting) have apparently been carrying on a conversation written in the margins of the book. Who does that!? And who would want to buy a book that's all marked up?

As it happens, this conversation has revealed a whole new dimension to the story beyond the novel itself. There is some dispute over the authorship of Ship Of Theseus that may or may not involve the translator F. X. Caldeira. The intrigue doesn't stop there, however, and I'm only just getting started. The mystery surrounding the amnesic character known (so far) only as "S." has certainly piqued my interest. There also seems to be some academic competition and skulduggery going on, which has yet to be fully revealed to this reader. It's all kind of 'meta' with a story taking form on top of a story, and the two are inextricably linked.

I have no idea where all of this is heading, and I will resist seeking out any answers online before I have finished examining the book and its extraneously inserted contents. Further down the Straka rabbit hole I go...