Interconnected Stories

Morgenstern ties together the stories of the Starless Sea through several books mentioned in the story as well as the present day plot line in order to show how each of these seemingly disparate stories are interconnected and influence the ending. Books 1 to 3 feature Sweet Sorrows, Fortunes and Fables, and The Ballad of Simon and Eleanor as stories Zachary reads in the present timeline. Each of the stories included in these books relate to the Starless Sea, which helps Zachary learn more about this world as he first goes there. It is also significant that Zachary and Dorian find themselves in stories in Sweet Sorrows. This suggests that their lives are also connected to the Starless Sea through their association with these stories.

Morgenstern further brings together the novel and the stories about the Starless Sea when Zachary and Dorian meet Simon and Eleanor. These...