'Don't explain your author, read him right and he explains himself.' Mark Twain

I would find it astonishing if this novel did not make reference to the Korean War in which he had served or the Vietnam conflict. In fact the book is riddled with references to war, genocides and conflict, but it is fair to expect Gene's own experience to have flavoured his descriptions.
A cornucopia of delights or a catalogue of atrocity?
There is something about war and conflict which brings out the best and worst of people. Little wonder he wrote a book called 'Peace' after this.
They don't call it the theatre of war for nothing... A sense of humour helps to deal with the tragedy. See those two masks? One is grinning and the other is crying.
Another unconventional form of theatre is performed on a table usually.


This page is dedicated to the memory of all those who suffered in wars or in peacetime. They are the innocent ones.
The guilty are the ones who did nothing to prevent the pain and indeed multiplied the conflict.

Prisoner, Soldier, Torturer, Hell - POW
As the late, great, Martin Caidin put it, 'there are no fighter pilots down in hell'

If we have learned anything in the few thousand years since battle reports were first written, it is that if a group of people are prepared to fight and die for their beliefs, their way of life or their homeland, then the only way to prevent genocidal activity is to enter into dialogue and reach some agreement.

War is terrorism, the idea of a war against terrorism would be funny if it was not so tragic.
But do not blame the soldiers for what they do in war.
They blame themselves far more than you could know.

I still find it incredible that there are people who doubt the reality of the holocaust... or the moon landings. At least we have digital cameras on our mobile phones now.

But what has this got to do with Gene Wolfe?
Is Prisoner 143 a political prisoner or a criminal?
Maybe he is just a prisoner of war facing bizarre new forms of torture, psychological and physical.
A possible Manchurian candidate?

Working in Geneva?

You have to want to ...

I am guessing some people have had the experience where a number seems to follow them around.
I find phone numbers, even my own, hard to remember.
I can recall when simply dialing 4, 5 or 6 numbers would connect you to a friend in your vicinity.
Once phone numbers go over 9 digits they tax our short term memory beyond its limits.
Mnemonics help of course, but now our phones can remember numbers for us... some people cannot do simple arithmetic without a calculator.

Area Code 212 = New York.

Numbers don't follow me around... my favourite number is a common one so I attach no great significance when I see it as a street number or on a car registration.
If a number like 21832 followed me around I would certainly notice, but anything below three digits is probably unremarkable. Except perhaps in this context 47 may be significant.

The numerologists show us that with their art they can find any meaning in you might imagine in any text you might name, which is a good reason to throw them out of the house.

666 debunked