Digging Deeper into S.: Part 1 - Karstian Strategies

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players.

They have their exits and their entrances,

And one man in his time plays many parts,

His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,

Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.

Then, the whining school-boy with his satchel

And shining morning face, creeping like a snail

Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,

Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad

Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then, a soldier,

Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,

Jealous in honour, sudden, and quick in quarrel,

Seeking the bubble reputation

Even in the cannon's mouth. And then, the justice,

In fair round belly, with a good capon lined,

With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut,

Full of wise saws, and modern instances,

And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts

Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,

With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,

His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide

For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,

Turning again toward childish treble, pipes

And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,

That ends this strange eventful history,

Is second childishness and mere oblivion,

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

-William Shakespeare, As You Like It

I'm intending this to be the first in a series of blog posts.  I know my blog has been a pretty random collection of ideas, insights, and research that might be a little intimidating for newcomers who are ready to explore further.  My intent is to keep this mostly spoiler-free in that the conclusions made here have already been discussed either on this blog or elsewhere on the internet.  My hope is that this series can provide a framework that you, the reader can use as a jumping off point to delve into deeper mysteries.

1. There are many layers in S.  The book itself gives us clues to this conclusion.

• Caldeira tells us that Straka dreams in the archaeological strata of history
• Karst & Son, the defunct publishing house of previous Straka novels, is also a reference to geological formations comprised of layers of bedrock and erosion. 
• Throughout the course of the book, several characters are defenestrated.  Defenestration is a favorite technique that Bouchard uses to deal with his enemies, but it is also a metaphor for falling through layers.  In order to reach the ground, one must fall through stories.  
• Filomela herself encourages Jen and Eric to be happy and falling. 
• The book S. is comprised of layers.  The text, the footnotes, the inserts, and the marginal notes between Jen and Eric all add layers to the whole. 
• As Mystimus points out, the target used in archery is a series of layered concentric circles. 

2.  There have been things found in the layers using the clues given to us, as readers. 

• JJ Abrams found The Cry of the Halidon in an airport and it sparked the concept for S.  It's no coincidence then, that the first appearance of S_. with his amnesia bears a striking resemblance to that of the fictional character, Jason Bourne in The Bourne Identity.  
• And imagine my surprise when I discovered that some of the locations of the wine vintages identified as part of Vevoda's cellar can also be found in Ludlum's books.  
• The Scarlatti Inheritance, another Ludlum book, contains an incident where a briefcase is stolen from Grand Central Station.  The person who placed it in the locker is subsequently poisoned with a doctored cocktail by an unidentified gentleman. 
• Hemingway also had a valise full of his writings lost or stolen at a train station in France. 
• There seem to be other books layered into S.  I'm pretty confident that I've found a few.  I'm just as confident that my fellow blogger of all thing related to Straka, Mystimus, has found some, too.
• And there appears to be a layer of hidden narratives that correspond to real places and historical events which I talk about here.

Consider then how layers work in literature, history, and places.  Cities are often built on the rubble of older cities; layers in soil can be used an indicator of age, as can fossils.  History is not the chronological progression of unrelated events, but a chain of causality.  Literature doesn't exist in a vacuum; T.S. Eliot borrowed freely from earlier works for his masterpiece, The Waste Land, and I've read of another author who used excerpts from about 50 texts for one passage of one novel. 

Why is it important that S. seems to be a book built on layers? What exactly do those layers comprise of?  Are the characters found within the novel themselves composites; made up of layers of other real and fictional persons?  

These are some of things I've thought about.  Perhaps you will want to think about these things, too.  Also be aware that I've not discussed everything I know or think that I know. Whatever happens, don't be afraid to ask questions, to look for connections and to seek the unknown.  Who knows, you may find something I've missed.  I wish you good fortune and the fairest of winds in your explorations.  Happy sailing!