Ideas and Materials for Five Strange Languages

$25.00

by James Elkins

Published: October 20, 2026

Signed paperback companion book $25.00

by James Elkins

Published: October 20, 2026

Signed paperback companion book $25.00

Ideas and Materials for Five Strange Languages

James Elkins

Stories, Like Illnesses Publisher Exclusive!

Elkins began writing the guide Ideas and Materials twenty years ago, when Five Strange Languages was just getting started. Meant to be read alongside the novel, both as a guide and an invitation to explore the book’s themes and meanings, it sets out the contents of each of the three books that have appeared so far—Stories, Like Illnesses; A Short Introduction to Anneliese; and Weak in Comparison to Dreams—and it explores what they say about memory, aging, love, and many other topics.

Preorder alongside Stories, Like Illnesses here.