![]() For instance, at one point Micah says, “I’m not gay because my genes say I am. He’s young enough that his future is uncertain.Īt different times the novel questions the allegedly fixed nature of racial identity, religious identity, and even sexual orientation. His choice makes sense for now, but it might not add up later. Without giving away too much of the ending, do you think Brendan ends up making a bad choice? Is he old enough to even know what a bad choice is? So, the threat is not really self-acceptance so much as relationship-readiness (although the former can help facilitate the latter.) Once a loving relationship is established and people want to share their lives together, framings of homosexuality in terms of “natural versus unnatural” or “identity versus behavior” are kind of beside the point. While the characters often talk about what it means to be gay and Mormon, or gay and not Mormon, as these definitional boundaries are important to them, this never seems to get at the heart of the matter. ![]() Yes, self-acceptance is vital to any relationship, but what I try to do in the story is reframe the question of what is natural/unnatural to a question of the basics of relationship-building. The biggest threat to their relationship is probably that they’re young, as young people can be quite selfish, insecure, possessive, etc. Would it be fair to say what threatens the relationship between Micah and Brendan is not that one is out and the other is not, but rather that Micah understands his gayness as a natural part of his identity while Brendan hesitates to do so? ![]() Depicting actual sex and its consequences for these characters seemed integral for the story. For Brendan, it’s about this, but also represents a movement away from the Church that is deeply troubling for him (not to mention he’s a virgin, so sex is a big unknown for him, which brings in the usual trust issues). For Micah, it is a way to show affection and celebrate the relationship. Ultimately, sexual intimacy means different things for the characters. Still, I wasn’t sure how forward I wanted to be with sexual intimacy because I see value in keeping sex hidden from public view. A smaller Mormon audience is open to being “gently educated” about homosexuality, which was not the story I wanted to write. Do you think that scene will prevent the novel from reaching a larger Mormon audience? How does that scene function in the structure of the novel?Ī larger Mormon audience won’t pick up anything gay-themed, whether or not sex is depicted. Your novel includes many sensual references to smells and tastes, and near the end a very steamy sex scene. In such a world, Affirmation may not need to exist. If Mormon culture regarded same-sex intimacy like it does opposite-sex intimacy, then gay Mormons would find each other in the Church, be friends and/or fall in love, instead of having to worry about choosing a path in terms of their church status. Micah’s question comes out of a kind of romantic idealism. Brendan wasn’t looking for gay people because he’s fearful about what it means to be gay in the context of being Mormon. The catch is that one must be interested in both identifiers: “gay” and “Mormon.” In my novel, Micah wasn’t looking for Mormons because he was moving away from the Church. The Internet allows gay Mormons to find each other easily and Affirmation often comes up first in a search. What value do you see in organizations such as Affirmation, or in the Internet, as means to help gay Mormons find each other? Micah asks himself, “What if the main reason gay Mormons have to choose a path is because they almost never find each other?” (p. ![]() Is Brendan based on a relationship you had? To read the first chapter and purchase a copy, visit: I think part of the charm of your novel is that in Brendan you created a character who is enigmatic and unpredictable, yet sympathetically viewed through the eyes of Micah, who is in love with him. Reviews of Ockham’s Razor have been posted on Main Street Plaza, A Motley Vision, and other websites. in Cultural Studies from the University of Washington, Bothell, lives in Seattle, and last year attended his first Affirmation conference. It was written by a young gay man who, not unlike the novel’s narrator, left the church at age 15. Fresh and original, fast-paced and full of humor, it ends on an optimistic note. Alan Michael Williams “What I try to do in the story is reframe the question of what is natural/unnatural to a question of the basics of relationship-building”Īlan Michael Williams’s Ockham’s Razor is a bittersweet love story.
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