Book Review: A Lodging of Wayfaring Men

I don’t remember how I came to possess A Lodging of Wayfaring Men. I hadn’t heard of it, hadn’t seen it on a web site, so I didn’t request it from the publisher ... and since it isn’t from a large publishing house, nor a pro-freedom one, I’m not sure how I came to the sender’s notice as an individual likely to be interested in the book. Further adding to the mystery is that the book isn’t available via usual channels, meaning online bookstores. Swirling another layer through it all is that the book’s author or authors chose not to take credit for the work, publishing it as Anonymous.

Well, I do love mysteries, and will admit to eyeing the book in my queue with some anticipation as it progressed in the stack. When it finally reached the top, I found myself digging through it not so much in hopes of finding answers to the mysteries, but in enjoyment of the story and interest in the ideas it presents.

What if you could be more than you ever thought you could be? To be better than you thought you could be? Would you do it? asks the back cover. The answers aren’t given in the book, and neither is information that will directly challenge the reader to answer them. However, in the telling of the stories of several men over most of their lives, there’s much to think about and react to that helps provide answers for readers inclined to take those questions seriously while reading A Lodging of Wayfaring Men.

The remaining copy on the back cover hints at the activities of four major characters, doing so in such a way as to invite comparison with Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. Such comparisons are valid, in some respects. Both books address some individuals’ need to strive to achieve the best within themselves, and to find the best within others. They also portray the creation of an alternative society where such Creators and Producers are free to pursue their interests outside the grasp of the state. Lastly, both are novels of ideas, addressing crucial elements of human interaction and society in various ways to inform and challenge their readers.

A Lodging of Wayfaring Men is in some important respects better than Atlas Shrugged. It offers a deeper understanding of human psychology, and therefore in some areas will be more effective at reaching the reader, especially those not already inclined to value freedom. The speechifying is much more subtle, and often couched in dialogue rather than long soliloquy; but it also misses the mark more than Rand’s does. The characters are more complex and therefore more realistic (particularly the women); and their interactions are also deeper and more satisfying. The structure and pacing of A Lodging of Wayfaring Men is uneven, and the book overall would have been much improved by more careful copy editing. Still, it is a compelling book that offers much for freedom-loving individuals to think about.

Much of the action centers on the creation of a secure, private market that is completely outside of the reach of all government—and therefore taxing—authorities, and which begins its existence disguised as a computer game. The technology is not outlined in great detail, but sufficiently so to capture one’s imagination; I found myself wishing that such a system were in place, or at least in development, right now. Particularly effective is an exchange two of the characters have discussing fears and objections people have to freedom (pp. 148-151). Other similar gems are sprinkled throughout A Lodging of Wayfaring Men, although some are placed more adroitly than others.

Particularly endearing to me was the repeating theme of the need to address reality, whatever its form. It seems to me that many freedom-oriented individuals focus more on what ought to be, rather than what is, and thereby lose efficacy. I wish the Free Soul house were a real place where people could go to hang out and interact. A Lodging of Wayfaring Men doesn’t offer a utopian vision as much as it does sound ideas on ways to make what we do have much better. For all the quibbles I have with the book, its solid presentation of many ideas had me folding corners of pages so that I could return to specific ideas and consider them in more detail at my leisure. As full as my reading schedule is, I plan to make time to return to A Lodging of Wayfaring Men in order to glean the most from this interesting, thought-provoking tale.



Order A Lodging of Wayfaring Men from Vera Verba Publications, $26.95