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The work by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst contains a fictional novel entitled  Ship of Theseus purportedly written by the author V. M. Straka in Czech and translated into English by F. X. Caldeira. That novel comes with several inserts ranging from photographs, telegrams, newspaper clippings and even a map drawn on napkin. There are also  copious marginal notes over several readings by Jen and Eric, two fictional students.

The work recalls in some ways the writings of Vladimir Nabokov, in particular his novel, Pale Fire, where a fictional editor publishes a lengthy poem by a fictional author and then provides a commentary to it. Dan Brown, most famous for his novel, The DaVinci Code, that mixes fact and fiction also has echoes here.

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