Way Station by Clifford D. Simak

Hello, Stranger.

Let's talk about Way Station by Clifford D. Simak.

The Short of It

Plot: Since the Civil War, Enoch Wallace has manned the alien transport hub on Earth.

Page Count: 210

Award: 1964 Hugo

Worth a read: Yes! As soon as possible.
Primary Driver: (Plot, World, or Character)
Bechdel Test: Pass
Technobabble: Some
Review: An exceptional book. Enoch's journals give us peeks at a vast galaxy of different aliens, all distinct. At the center of this vast cosmos is a superb depiction of isolation and loneliness. The writing is poetic yet unpretentious. Read this book.

The Medium of It

Spoiler Free!

What a beautiful little book. Go and read it. 

There are multiple plot threads here, and they are woven together surprisingly well. Pacing on the whole is sedate, but the quality of the writing keeps you reading. The language is not flowery or complex; it is deliberate and evocative. Simak works with an artist's precision in crafting both his world and his sentences, an attention to detail that permeates the entire book. 

In the ten days that Lewis had watched him, his route had never varied. It was likely, Lewis told himself, that it had not varied through the years. Wallace did not hurry. He walked as if he had all the time there was. And he stopped along the way to renew acquaintances with old friends of his-a tree, a squirrel, a flower.

Enoch Wallace is the center of this web, the character who ties together all of the different stories, and it works, because he is a fully developed character. Other characters have equal depth. Simak succeeds where many have failed - in making  aliens completely outlandish and yet deeply human. The same applies to alien technology - it is refreshing to see a human struggle to understand alien gifts while still offering vibrant descriptions.

This book also excels at building up a full galaxy of aliens and mysteries without leaving Earth. In point of fact, the vast majority of this book takes place on Enoch's property. Yet the images we are given show how rich and diverse the universe can be. This should be examined as a case-study in world building; it is not about spelling out changes, it is about the people, the details, the shape the life takes. Part of what makes this so remarkable is that we are not explicitly told about all that many other races or planets - yet Simak succeeds in making us feel that his galaxy is dense with life and full of personality.

Through Enoch's tired eyes we dive deep into loneliness and togetherness with an emotional resonance that is hard to find in science fiction. Way Station is the type of science fiction that anyone with a soul would find compelling.

Now go get you a copy, Stranger, and then we'll chat some more.

I mean it. Don't read further until you've finished this book. Then we can talk, Stranger. You owe it to yourself to read this. Simak's prose is truly next level.

If you're going to buy this book, click here! It'll get me a few cents and help buy more books, at no cost to you.

The Long of It

Spoilers Ahead!

Alright, if you're with me now, I hope you've read this book and enjoyed it as much as I have.  Let's dive back into it.

There are three different stories in this book.  There is the story of Enoch: how he became a Way Station Keeper, the aliens he's met, and the friends he made.  There's the story of Claude Lewis and his observation of Enoch for the government.  And then there's the story of the Talisman and Lucy Fisher. It is remarkable that in so short a book they mesh so well.

All three have isolation as their core concept. For Enoch it is an isolation from people and time; he has outlived everyone he had loved, and his unique life bars others from entering his world. From Lewis it is being the only observer, as well as being alone in his belief that Enoch is truly over 130 years old. From the start he notes that he's been turned away by every scientist he's encountered. And then there is Lucy, deaf and mute, isolated in a world of her own.

There are a lot of thought provoking concepts here. Teleporters that kill a copy with every step - are you the same you when you get out? AIs that are more than computers, that envy the humanity they lack. Obligation and duty in the face of pressure to give up both.

Flashbacks are used here to superb effect, in particular partying with the Hazers. The ideas of art forms that are truly beyond our ken is excellent, as is Simak's choice to not even try to explain it fully.  Just enough that we understand how intense it is.  I wanted to go to a festival with the Hazers.  They seem like great people. Using this flashback to set up how groovy the Hazers were, followed by the flashback of the older Hazer dying, and tying it all together at the end is truly masterful storytelling. The flashbacks seemed like many of the others; there to establish a universe of aliens. Only at the end does everything flow together.

The only story thread that seems abrupt is the portion involving Mary. I mean, Enoch straight up made people. Are we not going to talk about that? He made people. With alien math. I'm torn on this one, though - I wish it were explored a bit more, or brought up earlier to have a more consistent presence in the story. However, it really embeds loneliness as the past, present, and future of Enoch. It's tied in with the rest of the story elements, but still tangential.

On that note, the climax is great. Lewis returning the stolen body of a Hazer buried by Enoch while Enoch is protecting Alice from a mob... what a way to put all your characters together. What a way for Enoch to find his people. And how heartbreaking, then, to have him alone once more at the end.

This book is just completely charming.  It was an absolute pleasure to read every bit of it.  Please read this book.

All the days were gone and all the people in them. 

Only he was left. 

He had lost his world. 

He had left his world behind him. 

And, likewise, on this day, had all the others - all the humans that were alive this moment. 

They might not know it yet, but they, too, had left their world behind them. It would never be the same again. 

You said good bye to so many things, to so many loves, to so many dreams.

I'm not crying, you're crying, Stranger.

And don't forget to read a book!