My Book

Publication(s)

  • First publication
    • Amazing Science Fiction Stories, May 1983
  • Wolfe collection(s)

Wolfe's comments from the Introduction to Endangered Species

"It must have a voice that is not purposelessly changed (as that of the typical leader in When I Was Ming the Merciless), at least one character (the madman who composes My Book, for example), and at least one event to narrate, though in a few of the stories you may have to search carefully to find it."

Summary

A man obsessively writes a book backwards, word by word.

Analysis

  • "I've progressed, in one sense, rather alarmingly. I'm now thinking of reconstructing the whole thing," is from

The Beckoning Fair One (a short story about a writer who goes insane) by Oliver Onions, available online here.

  • "Man is now unware of the real powers that govern his life; insofar as he has any knowledge of divinity it is as something purely historical," is from Selected Short Stories of Franz Kafka by Willa and Edwin Muir in their commentary on the story The Great Wall of China. It is available online, but it may require a subscription to read the whole thing.

Unresolved Questions

  • Was it A or was it B, or was it X or Z?
  • Was it he or was it she, or was it you or me?
  • Who dunnit?
  • Did the Star Child really start WWIII at the end of 2001?

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