Biting Back
November 6, 2001
Twenty years after The Hunger, a sequel retains its homoerotic heritage
by Christopher Wynn,
The Advocate
If you didnt read Whitley Striebers The Hunger, you undoubtedly
saw the stylish film starring Catherine Deneuve, Susan Sarandon, and David
Bowie. Striebers new book, The Last Vampire (Pocket Books,
$24.95), reunites us with Deneuves character, the beautiful and deadly
Miriam Blaylock. The time has come for the vampires centennial conclaves,
and Miriam is searching for a suitable mate to help her conceive a child.
Instead, she stumbles on Interpol agent Paul Ward, whose secret vampire
extermination team threatens to destroy Miriam and her entire race. A dangerous
global game of cat and mouse ensues, blurring the line between good and
evil and leaving room for only one survivor.
Miriam, with her yen for a truly alternative
family, has achieved cult status among gays and lesbians, and no wonder:
I explore homoerotic themes in my vampire novels because they are,
on one level, about a deeper freedom than we allow ourselves, Strieber
tells The Advocate. When we step out into a nonhuman character,
the rules are different. Miriam is truly free sexually because our cultural
limitations have no meaning for her. She explores whatever she chooses to
explore, seeking within and without for happiness, without filtering her
desires through a false morality.
Strieber concludes, We should all be
like Miriamsexually, that is. Her diet is another matter.