Clifford
Simak’s work puts such a debate into my mind: where to draw the line between
good intentions and overly-simplistic outlay?
If writers were judged on the sentiment of their work and its
relationship to humanity’s future, Simak would rank among the most concerned. Much of his fiction, for example his major
novel Way Station, caution us against
short-sighted views and champion a mindset which has nature and universal
respect at its core. What greater vision
could a reader ask for? But there is
also much of his fiction caught up in unsophisticated ideas that scan at a
quick glance, but upon any deeper examination, crumble into plainness, mindlessness,
even cheesiness. City (1952), perhaps Simak’s most famous work, only heightens the
debate.
Extrapolating
upon the direction Simak perceived society and technology to be moving
post-WWII in the US, City is a series
of eight stories (nine, depending on the version) presenting a chronological
sequence of views of said extrapolation.
Positing humanity incapable of getting out of its own way, he portrays a
future wherein dogs, after a jump in sentience, rise to the peak of
civilization—not through the deft use of cunning or brute force, rather by
stepping into a vacancy afforded by humanity’s mismanagement of its own
affairs. Self-interest and poor decisions
deflating civilization, in an ironic utopia it’s canines who bring peace to
Earth.
The dogs
presented as ideal society, City
nevertheless remains focused on humanity.
The lovey-lovey canine interaction ignoring wolf-ish instinct and
instead depending on their loyalty, playfulness, and relative innocence, Simak
focuses on the wolf in man, rendering him capable of paranoia and egotism, and
with little view to the long term. The
Webster family directly and indirectly featured in the eight stories, their
sons and their sons and their sons are faced with situations key to the
evolution of Earth, the solar system, and beyond. From agoraphobia to front yard diatribes, the
Websters, by turns, improve and detract from humanity’s extended chances for
survival. Simak delineating each story
along straight-forward lines, there are no spaceships or laser fights, rather
weighty conversations, introspection, and a focus on the sociology of humanity. The conversations oscillating between clunky
and pertinent, the weight of their import varies.
But where
Olaf Stapledon’s Sirius treats the
idea of dog sentience with rigor, City
remains caught between satire and children’s story. Simply put, Simak can’t decide whether he
wants the dogs to be symbolic or mimetic.
But were this presentation to have kept itself at the individual level,
all would be ok. But that each is
intended to represent the whole, one can’t help but accuse Simak of
reductionism. One story, for example,
hinges on the idea that if somebody tells society that a mental utopia awaits
on Jupiter, all humans would go, and therefore the human race would die out as
each person would become an uber-human.
Simak himself pastoral, surely there would be more than a few wanting
to remain, living in the mountains in a cabin or at home in a city, paranoid as
to the possibilities on Jupiter, and thus preserving the human race. The idea works in fiction, but scratching
below the surface reveals the premise to reside on a shaky foundation.
But the
simpli-city continues. Simak posits that
if atomic power replaced gasoline, and plastic, wood, and hydroponics, standard
agriculture, then all humans would move to the countryside and leave the cities
behind. A head-scratcher for sure, it
again calls into question Simak’s understanding of not only technology, but
also humanity. Covering a wide spectrum,
some are extrovert hive dwellers while others prefer nature and
introversion.
But no
matter how appropriated humanity and all its myriad possibilities are, Simak
has his heart in the right place. The
dogs are a bit corny if one can’t suspend their disbelief, but the idea they
embody is a worthy goal. The people,
their situations, and their conversations are not always at the most subtle,
but the invisible driving force behind them is something to pause and at least
have a moment’s thought about.
City a fix up novel, Simak welds the pieces together
in direct fashion. Each story has an
introduction written by an unnamed future historian, and then proceeds as
originally published in Astounding
magazine. I have read opinions that
these interludes add to the text, and opinions that they detract. I’m caught in the middle. The voice-over does
a good job of distancing the individual stories—creating legend from story, as
it were—by providing an overarching context.
On the other hand, they destroy a bit of the magic. The escalation of surprise, story upon
story, is not allowed to proceed unabated; instead the reader is forced into a
pit stop at the conclusion of each to get a hint of what is to come before the
ride is continued.
In the
end, City is a simple cautionary that
climbs through eight stories in imaginative, albeit logically puzzlingly
fashion. Speculative fiction ideas carry
their own inherent unquestionability, but when they interfere with the
realities of human behavior being aimed at, one must call them into
question. This is not to say Simak is
writing pulp and his story is a means of getting person A to B, rather that his
intentions are in the right place, only his directions to that place sometimes
misleading. Indeed, if we are not mindful of developments to technology and the
collective human mindset we may be shooting ourselves in the foot, but the
manner in which this idea is presented is in more naïve than credible
terms. Simak a country bumpkin, much of
the simple-mindedness comes out in the writing.
That being said, there is likewise wisdom tucked away in his words, wisdom
that we would do well to listen to.
The ants,
well, best not to read that ninth story...
This review, hard as it is to understand, should not be allowed stand unchallenged. _City_ is a wonderful, imaginative, thought provoking, and deeply affecting book.
ReplyDeleteThe review seems mainly to criticize the "predictions" that Simak makes for the future of humankind. But of course they are plot devices, not predictions. No one should really care if hydroponics fails to displace traditional farming or flying cars fail to dissolve cities.
Simak's real topic merges the long-term future of humankind and what it means to be human. His answer is rather bleak -- and convincing. The humans of the far future have nothing to do and no purpose that animates their daily lives. This is why the majority decamp to a better life on Jupiter (truly a boldly imaginative leap). The motivations of the mutants are left unexplained, emphasizing that they have drifted from what real human existence is like. And the dogs are a mixture of human adult and child.
It's all rather sad, but fascinating and hypnotic to watch and experience. _City_ emphasizes that it's but a thin reed that makes humans be humans, rather like the thin, previously unappareciated reed of human decency that we now recognize is the essential glue that holds democracy together.
Don't read this book for the predictions it makes -- that is the most naive possible approach to science fiction. Read it for the way it will make you think about how you're using your time on earth.
Before I respond to your comment, let me first say this is one of the best comments I have ever received on this blog. Rather than just saying my review is 'crap', you outlayed a position why you disagree. Thank you for that.
DeleteTo your comment, I'm not sure where you think I was critiquing the book for its predictions. I re-read my review, but I don't see it...
Regardless, I'm open to your point. It's been almost seven years since I read City. I have vague memories. I have to take your comment at face value, and trust you. Have you read St. John Mandel's Station Eleven? Based on your comment, I think there is common ground thematically.