Steve Dinneen argued in "City A.M." that the work "is remarkable in the way it so gracefully touches upon the great philosophical questions without ever feeling didactic. A Number is no cold thought experiment, but a quiet rumination on human nature". Dineen wrote that Salter's interludes "say as much as an hour’s worth of dialogue". Arifa Akbar of "The Guardian" said that "Churchill’s linguistic tics – of interruptions and half-finished sentences – create a hyperreal effect and enable Salter’s obfuscation". Richard Pahl of "Northwest Herald" billed "A Number" as an "engaging meditation on human cloning, personal identity and the conflicting claims of nature and nurture". Pahl wrote that the work "offers intellectual and emotional depth, and illustrates the ways people rationalize bad behavior and unthinkingly objectify others, including their own flesh and blood. It asks important questions."