Summary

In Chapter 10, Dorrigo recounts the death haiku of the eighteenth-century poet, Shisui. The idea was that a poet wrote a final poem, on his death bed. When Shisui complied with the tradition, he merely painted a circle. Dorrigo notes that the circle is a mystery to him and that it is the opposite of a line.

In Chapter 11, Dorrigo is among the prisoners held by the Japanese. Because he is a colonel, he is second-in-command of a Prisoner of War camp with about a thousand prisoners. Conditions are severe but they pass the time with memories of home, education programs, and various sports. Prior to being captured, Dorrigo is second-in-command at a “casualty clearing station” and is left behind with a few men when the station is abandoned. They are supposed to be waiting for a truck but instead is instructed to...