Review: A Station on the Path to Somewhere Better by Benjamin Wood

Despite being only 12 years old, Daniel is aware that his father is unreliable. Nevertheless, he can’t help but admire the man – with his dazzling good lucks, easy laughter, and captivating gaze. In addition, his father works on the set of one of Daniel’s favourite TV shows; a special connection between the pair that his son dares anyone to refute. Disregarding his mother’s pessimistic warnings, Daniel is elated by his father’s suggestion of a tour of the studio.

Yet as the duo progress northwards, Daniel slowly nurses the feelings of disappointment and disillusionment, as his father’s reportedly solid plans start to slowly disintegrate, along with whatever fragile bond held their relationship intact. Over the course of a few hours, he truly sees his father’s other – darker- side, complete with paranoia, violence, and deceit. Despite his endless affairs and displays of boundless charm, Daniel can’t help but suspect that something in his father is lacking, and he confronts the notion that the result is so monstrous, it robs his father of his humanity.

Years later, in looking back, Daniel cannot help but feel that he is tainted; that something stealthy and murky haunts his very blood. Despite his successful job and marriage, he is haunted by the actions of his father so many years ago, and feels the repercussions as ever-present echoes.

A Station on the Path to Somewhere Better is nothing short of phenomenal. Wood writes with such intimacy and portrays a character with such vulnerability that the reader is left flirting with the line between viewer and voyeur. Through Daniel’s story, we are forced to endure his shame and darkest thoughts without being able to help or alleviate his suffering. This intense emotional connection with a character unable to live beyond the confines of some script on a page is testament to Wood’s talent and his impressive telling of what it takes to break trust, and ultimately, to break a person.

A Station on the Path to Somewhere Better by Benjamin Wood is published by Scribner Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Inc, and is available in South Africa from Jonathan Ball Publishers.