《S.》 New York Times書評

2013年10月27日 The New York Times 
A Long Time Ago, in a Universe More Analog
J. J. Abrams and Doug Dorst Collaborate on a Book, ‘S.’
By LOGAN HILL

‘S.’was conceived by J. J. Abrams and written by the novelist Doug Dorst, who teaches creative writing at Texas State University.
《S.》是由 J. J.亞柏拉罕所構思發想，執筆為小說家Doug Dorst（亦於德州州立大學教創意寫作課程）

Mr. Abrams stumbled upon the idea for “S.” more than a decade ago, when he found a worn Robert Ludlum paperback at Los Angeles International Airport. “Inside, someone had written, ‘To whomever finds this: Please read it, take it, read it and leave it for someone else.’ ” Mr. Abrams said he began thinking about the way his college books had been riddled with marginalia. “What if, instead of putting it back for someone else to read it, the person who received the book saw those notes and felt compelled to continue the conversation?”
Imagining the book as an espionage-style dead drop, in which two readers exchange notes in the margins, Mr. Abrams began interviewing novelists who could take his concept and run with it. He selected Mr. Dorst, the author of 2008’s supernatural noir “Alive in Necropolis,” a runner-up for the PEN/Hemingway award for first novels, and the collection “The Surf Guru.”
亞柏拉罕早在十多年前就有出版《S.》的想法，當時他在洛杉磯國際機場發現一本勞勃·勒德倫的舊書，書內頁有人寫著：「不論誰發現這本書，請在看完後留在原處讓下一個有緣人能讀到」。亞柏拉罕就回想到大學時期，總在教科書內頁空白處註記得滿滿的，進而突發奇想：「要是讀到這本書的人，不是歸回原位，而是不由自主地想和留言的人繼續對話呢？」
他設想著自己的書、走向要類似情報間諜的類型小說：有兩名讀者在書的內頁空白處交換心得筆記；接著他和多位小說家交流、希望能找出能幫他把構想呈現出來的人，最後他挑中了Dorst。

“He said he wanted to create a book, where you have a novel unfolding in the margins of another novel,” said Mr. Dorst.
Dorst說亞柏拉罕希望創作出一本在小說的內頁空白處、再發展出另一本小說的小說。

Mr. Dorst decided to create a fictional author and to write a novel in his voice. The primary text, V. M. Straka’s “Ship of Theseus,” is a highly symbolic, mystical tale of an odd man named S., who finds himself spinning through a widening gyre of conspiracy theories, assassination plots and strange voyages.
Dorst的呈現方式是虛構出一位作家，並用其獨特的筆法寫書中書。故事是以V. M. Straka的《希修斯之船》小說為主軸，《希修斯之船》的內容是一個名為「S.」怪人的象徵性很強的神秘故事：S.發現自己被捲入充滿陰謀論、謀殺計和奇異旅程的龐大旋渦中。

The book also has another level. Two readers meet cute in the margins: Eric, a graduate student who studies Straka, and Jen, a college senior. They spar, they tease, they flirt — and begin to unravel the novel’s mysteries.
除了故事主軸外，《S.》還有另一個層面，兩名讀者在《希修斯之船》的頁面空白處相遇筆談：一位是以Straka為研究主題的研究生Eric，另一個則是大四女孩Jen。倆人從互相爭論、取笑、進展到打情罵俏，並攜手解開小說的謎團。

“I don’t want this to come across as some sort of magic puzzle, which has a simple answer,” Mr. Dorst said. “I love puzzles, but that’s not what we were making.”
「我不希望《S.》變成像是有個直白解答的神奇謎題。我喜歡解謎，但那不是我們創作此書的用意。」Dorst說道。

Mr. Dorst admitted, “It’s an odd book,” adding: “I’d be surprised if it weren’t polarizing to some degree. But I think we made a cool thing, and I’m eager to share it.”
Dorst承認《S.》是本「怪書」，並補充道：「若它沒被視為怪到某個程度，我倒會很訝異。不過我認為我們的作品很酷，而且我迫不及待想和大家分享！」

“ ‘S.’ was born out of an idea of a love story and the notion of celebrating the book as an object,” Mr. Abrams said, during a phone interview. “In a digital age, it’s a distinctly analog object. It felt romantic to me.”
“We took every advantage of publishing and the fact that it is an object,” said Mr. Abrams, 
“The fun of ‘S.’ is having the book itself,” he said. “To physically hold it is kind of the point.”
「《S.》的起點是個愛情故事，並彰顯出書本作為一個物件的特色。在數位時代裡，它的存在就是個搶眼的類比物件，這種感覺很浪漫。」亞柏拉罕娓娓道來。而在出版的艱辛過程中他則說道：「我們充份利用出版業的各項資源來完成它，而實際成品也是獨一無二的。擁有《S.》這本書的本身就是樂趣的所在，實際握在手中的感受是無可取代的。」



誠品：「23種精美配件延伸閱讀想像，讓故事歷程成為躍然於紙上的冒險遊戲。」
博客來：「這本書把紙本書的線性閱讀立體化，而且結合書中書的故事線，是前所未有的創意表現。」

〈鬼才編導鋪桌遊梗 玩出暴紅小說《S.》〉2015年01月942期《今周刊》孫蓉萍
書中大量的手寫字更是馬虎不得。為了找兩位寫手，圓神徵了近一百人來試寫，老中青三代都有，不只字要寫得順眼、好讀、有個人特色，還要在寫幾萬字的情況下，依舊維持一貫的工整。過程雖艱辛，圓神出版行銷企畫張鳳儀說：「辦了這次的甄選，我們才發現原來很多人愛手寫。」網路發達，電腦打字幾乎取代了手寫，但手寫的溫度，無可取代。