Gene Wolfe's Book of Days by Gene Wolfe
"Gene Wolfe's Book of Days" is a collection of short stories that reflect on various holidays celebrated in the United States, linking each narrative to themes relevant to the specific occasion. The stories explore a range of topics, from societal issues like the reintroduction of slavery in "How the Whip Came Back," which is associated with Lincoln's birthday, to the development of a computer dating service in "Of Relays and Roses" for Valentine's Day. Through diverse narratives, Wolfe addresses the emptiness of modern life and the quest for personal identity amidst industrialization.
Each story, while related to its respective holiday, is characterized by a darkly humorous or tragic tone, showcasing moments of personal transition and emotional disconnection. For instance, "Paul's Treehouse" intertwines the themes of fear and aggression during Arbor Day, while "The Changeling" reflects on the disorientation faced by a soldier returning home from war. The collection culminates in a sense of existential questioning, with characters grappling with the meaning of their lives, as seen in the Labor Day story "Forlesen," where the protagonist's life is defined by meaningless routines. Overall, "Gene Wolfe's Book of Days" presents a thought-provoking examination of contemporary existence, intertwined with the cultural significance of American holidays.
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Gene Wolfe's Book of Days
First published: 1981
Type of work: Stories
Type of plot: Science fiction—New Wave
Time of work: Various times between 1938 and the near future
Locale: Various locations on Earth and on unspecified other planets
The Plot
Gene Wolfe’s Book of Days includes stories related, sometimes loosely, to each of eighteen major and minor holidays celebrated in the United States. Lincoln’s birthday, for example, is commemorated with the short story “How the Whip Came Back.” Set in the near future, the story describes the reintroduction of slavery as a means of controlling overcrowding in prisons. “Of Relays and Roses,” a Valentines Day story, concerns the development of a supereffective computer dating ser-vice. Earth Day is marked by “Beautyland,” about a man who becomes a millionaire by selling the right to kill the country’s last remaining wildlife to the highest bidder. “The Blue Mouse,” a story for Armed Forces Day, tells how a soldier who believes himself to be above killing learns to fight, not for his country but for his pet mice. “The War Beneath the Tree” describes a battle between last year’s Christmas toys and their usurpers.
Thematically, these stories are only loosely related, though a number of themes are prevalent: the emptiness and impersonality of an industrialized civilization, the search for meaning and identity, and the thin veneer of emotional control. In the Arbor Day story, “Paul’s Treehouse,” for example, the world is rocked by riots that threaten suburban enclaves. The protagonist, Morris, converts his fear into aggression against his son, who has ensconced himself in a treehouse. As a mob gathers outside his own house, Morris makes plans to cut down the tree, even if it means hurting his son.
Wolfe often illustrates people at a moment of transition, as in “The Changeling,” a story for Homecoming Day. The main character, Peter, comes home from the Korean War to find that his sense of reality and, in fact, his actual identity are slipping away.
“Forlesen”, for Labor Day, is in length and development more a novella than a short story. It sets a characteristic tone for the entire collection. Both darkly humorous and tragic, the story encapsulates Emanuel Forlesen’s career as a middle manager into one long day.
Forlesen awakes knowing only his name; he can only take it for granted that the woman next to him is his wife. He quickly learns to follow the instructions provided to him and so begins his lifetime of meaningless work. He goes home for lunch, the only other contact he will have with his wife. He realizes that he knows her less well than his secretary. He returns to the plant to discover that he has been promoted. At the end of the day, he has retired, been given his gold watch, and gone home to die, never knowing if his life had any meaning.
This lack of a significant identity and of connectedness with family is echoed in “The Adopted Father,” a Fathers Day story about a man who believes that his children cannot be his own and who instead adopts an orphaned boy for whom, seemingly randomly, he feels some affinity. The Thanksgiving story, “Three Thousand Square Miles,” likewise is about a man aimlessly searching the United States for its reputed 90 percent of uninhabited land.