I have read the novel several times, and have loaned or given away close to a dozen copies. The novel deals with many things, but at the center it is about extinction and life, particularly that of a gay man. Our guide on this journey is Will Rabjohns, who may be the most brilliant wildlife photographer of his day. His niche? He chroncles and photgraphs animals on the verge of extinction, in their own habitat and world, which we, the human race, are slowly, yet steadily taking over.
Meanwhile, in his home of San Francisco, Will is also bearing witness to the loss of his own tribe due to the Plague that is AIDS. He speaks at one point in the later half of the novel on the subject of the plague and extinction with the following:
"We're spontaneous events. We just appear in the middle of families. And we'll keep appearing. Even if the plague killed every homosexual on the planet, it wouldn't be extinction, because there's queer babies being born every minute. It's like magic."
The central written theme in the novel is "Living and Dying we feed the Fire", taught in words and action via the character of Jacon Steep, who first encountered Will when Will was only a child, and now, that Will has reached adulthood, wants nothing more than to add Will to the pages of his own exctinct species collection.
We have all been witnesses to countless acts, of happiness, of violence, what have you. How many times, however, have we stopped witnessing the fire and stood inside it, to actually feel it? To see the world from the fire itself?
Another potent and prominant theme is voiced by Lord Fox, a creature that is a part of Will's psyche. Several times in the novel Lord Fox urges Will to "Stop looking, and See." The creature says this to A Photographer who built his life on observing and looking. But when he actually takes the time to stop looking and see, the miracles around him become blatently clear and precise and he is, in fact, changed as a result.
There is plenty for one to sink their teeth into in Sacrament, literally. One chapter chronicles the goings on at The Penitent, a bar which 'rivaled the Mineshaft" of New York City. Yes, Leather, kink, and fetish are alive and well in the novel, as per Barker's style and taste.
Interesting to note. There is no denying that Barker is a very open sexual being, and that he has no issue in exploring any number of types of sex. The main character couple in his short story "In the Hills, The Cities" (From Vol. 1 of The Books of Blood) are indeed a gay male couple. In "The Hellbound Heart" Barker explores the extremes of Sm and Kink, with the characters finding the pleasure in the suffering of themselves, and others. In "Imajica", Barker's Jesus character Gentle falls in love with Pi oh Pah, a shapeshifter whose sexual identity is never known or tangible. Even in Barker's fantastic play "Subtle Bodies", nonesense port Edward Lear falls in love and marries a Gorilla for the sole purpose that the gorilla likes Lear's nose.
It is in Sacrament that the sexuality of the protagonist, is very much fused with the themes and drama of the fiction, and, as many claim, the novel is the most autobiographical of all of Barker's works. He write the novel shortly after the death of a close cousin, and wilst in the stages of self-depression.
Upon its completion, Barker's agents told him that they would not prefer that he change the sexuality of Will. Simply give him a girlfriend. Barker has spoken and written several times about this exchange and stood firm and the result is a new agent and publisher as well as the queer Will Rabjohns.
Which brings me to Amongst The Living. I have heard over and over again, from friends, and family, to agencies the same thing: Just make the main character Straight.
In many ways i feel i am walking a similar path to that of my mentor and inspiration. Interestingly enough, if there was ever a novel I would choose to tackle to adapt to a screenplay that Barker wrote Sacrament would be it. Though it would be a long long screenplay lol
And i know who I'd Cast as Will. Take a look. What do you think?
I think Mr. Law'd be perfect
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