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Ockham's Razor
Two young Mormom men find themselves coming out much to the dismay of their families and church. One is comfortable with his sexuality, while the other struggles to keep ties with the church and not let others know.
245 pages, Paperback
First published June 25, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 7, 2010
This is an interesting book that attempts to blend a fictional relationship with an introspective on homosexuality, addiction, and the Mormon Church. While not wholly successful, it raises several arguments and different views which will be of note to readers who enjoy discussions on these topics. Fiction readers will likely be unsatisfied with the lengthy academic debates and lack of cohesive fictional relationship though. The writing choices are problematic and create a disjointed, awkward flow to the narration which ultimately combines in a book that is likely to have a very narrow, niche market.
The basic premise of the story is a look at the gay relationship between two young men and how their belief impacts their relationship. Micah is 21 and Brendan is 17. This isn’t exactly a young adult book though both men are immature and somewhat naive. Micah does a lot of research into the concept of gays in the Mormon Church and thus the story is really about how these two boys take their upbringing and knowledge to create lives for themselves and possibly together.
This reads more like an intellectual examination of homosexuality and its place within the Mormon Church than a fictional story. The fictional characters of Micah and Brendan exist to spark the discussion of gays within the church from two different perspectives ~ one within the Church and one outside. While these two indulge in an extremely odd and weird relationship, the majority of their conversations revolve around their relationship and problems within it. Additionally almost all of Micah’s conversations with others such as his mom or co-workers all revolve around addiction, homosexuality, and whether the two are connected.
While this information is interesting, the majority belongs more to a dissertation about homosexuality and the Mormon Church than thinly veiled in a fiction novel. The story is in first person point of view by Micah, but his narration alternates between third and second person when referring to Brendan or others. The example below is repeated numerous times throughout the story:
I scootch next to him on the couch and notice he hasn’t put on deodorant today. His pheromones make the world grow pleasantly fuzzy. I never got the chance to be close to you like this at school. This is surreal.
[...:]
He breaks the kiss and lays his head on my chest, his breath quick, his heart pounding. This is what I want from you; this is what I want from us.
The narrator, Micah, repeatedly alternates between telling the story and speaking to others in an internal monologue. This led to a very choppy and disjointed flow and pace to the story as well as the problematic characters themselves. The interaction between the two men is highly awkward with a stream of consciousness dialogue rather than actual conversation. Interspaced are lengthy pauses that regurgitate various religions and their belief systems. For example, here is a scene from their third date:
----
Amazing! I sit up and face him. “Yeah, like my mother. She’s afraid to be alone. But you know what? There’s this French philosopher named Sartre who argued that people are fundamentally alone. Human relationships are a balance of power. Sex is about power. Love is something we made up to help ourselves feel better about the situation. I mean, think about it. Does love exist in the relationship before the relationship? No, you nurture it over time. And before you know it, you’re stuck in a marriage and you’ve forced yourself to love it!”
Brendan shifts at this, wanting to get up. He decides to stay put, though. “Marriage isn’t about getting stuck,” he says. “It’s about ~”
“But I personally agree with the German philosopher Heidegger who argued that there’s some kind of invisible string that connects one’s consciousness with everything outside it. Everything is interconnected, kind of like the way Buddhists think. Love is already out there waiting for us, so you just have to discover it. You get what I’m saying?”
----
Furthermore there was awkward verbiage and comments such as “It’s just that any gay guy who isn’t safe is asking for STIs.” There is also a comment Micah makes about being 100 when the year is 2078. Since Micah is described as 21 years old, this statement is jarring. Does that mean the book is set in 1999? There are also too many hyperboles within the prose such as “Amazing!” “Exactly!” and a variety of other phrases that end in an exclamation point so often it loses the effect.
Unfortunately this book is unlikely to appeal to a lot of fiction readers due to the heavy intellectual debate that is presented for the majority of the book. The fictional relationship becomes more of a focus in the latter third of the book, but the stalker like actions of Micah are disturbing and uncomfortable. The ending has little resolution for the characters but creates more questions and opportunities for discussion about the topics presented. This book will appeal to those who are looking for an examination of the Mormon Church’s stand on homosexuality as seen through the eyes of young gay men.
The basic premise of the story is a look at the gay relationship between two young men and how their belief impacts their relationship. Micah is 21 and Brendan is 17. This isn’t exactly a young adult book though both men are immature and somewhat naive. Micah does a lot of research into the concept of gays in the Mormon Church and thus the story is really about how these two boys take their upbringing and knowledge to create lives for themselves and possibly together.
This reads more like an intellectual examination of homosexuality and its place within the Mormon Church than a fictional story. The fictional characters of Micah and Brendan exist to spark the discussion of gays within the church from two different perspectives ~ one within the Church and one outside. While these two indulge in an extremely odd and weird relationship, the majority of their conversations revolve around their relationship and problems within it. Additionally almost all of Micah’s conversations with others such as his mom or co-workers all revolve around addiction, homosexuality, and whether the two are connected.
While this information is interesting, the majority belongs more to a dissertation about homosexuality and the Mormon Church than thinly veiled in a fiction novel. The story is in first person point of view by Micah, but his narration alternates between third and second person when referring to Brendan or others. The example below is repeated numerous times throughout the story:
I scootch next to him on the couch and notice he hasn’t put on deodorant today. His pheromones make the world grow pleasantly fuzzy. I never got the chance to be close to you like this at school. This is surreal.
[...:]
He breaks the kiss and lays his head on my chest, his breath quick, his heart pounding. This is what I want from you; this is what I want from us.
The narrator, Micah, repeatedly alternates between telling the story and speaking to others in an internal monologue. This led to a very choppy and disjointed flow and pace to the story as well as the problematic characters themselves. The interaction between the two men is highly awkward with a stream of consciousness dialogue rather than actual conversation. Interspaced are lengthy pauses that regurgitate various religions and their belief systems. For example, here is a scene from their third date:
----
Amazing! I sit up and face him. “Yeah, like my mother. She’s afraid to be alone. But you know what? There’s this French philosopher named Sartre who argued that people are fundamentally alone. Human relationships are a balance of power. Sex is about power. Love is something we made up to help ourselves feel better about the situation. I mean, think about it. Does love exist in the relationship before the relationship? No, you nurture it over time. And before you know it, you’re stuck in a marriage and you’ve forced yourself to love it!”
Brendan shifts at this, wanting to get up. He decides to stay put, though. “Marriage isn’t about getting stuck,” he says. “It’s about ~”
“But I personally agree with the German philosopher Heidegger who argued that there’s some kind of invisible string that connects one’s consciousness with everything outside it. Everything is interconnected, kind of like the way Buddhists think. Love is already out there waiting for us, so you just have to discover it. You get what I’m saying?”
----
Furthermore there was awkward verbiage and comments such as “It’s just that any gay guy who isn’t safe is asking for STIs.” There is also a comment Micah makes about being 100 when the year is 2078. Since Micah is described as 21 years old, this statement is jarring. Does that mean the book is set in 1999? There are also too many hyperboles within the prose such as “Amazing!” “Exactly!” and a variety of other phrases that end in an exclamation point so often it loses the effect.
Unfortunately this book is unlikely to appeal to a lot of fiction readers due to the heavy intellectual debate that is presented for the majority of the book. The fictional relationship becomes more of a focus in the latter third of the book, but the stalker like actions of Micah are disturbing and uncomfortable. The ending has little resolution for the characters but creates more questions and opportunities for discussion about the topics presented. This book will appeal to those who are looking for an examination of the Mormon Church’s stand on homosexuality as seen through the eyes of young gay men.
Read
February 1, 2010Even if it’s not clearly stated, I think that Micah, the Mormon boy who believes in the Ockham’s Razor theory, has a lot in common with his author, Alan Michael Williams, the Mormon boy who still likes religious study.
Micah is 21 years old and living alone; he was raised as Mormon by his mother, but his father was not, and already this caused him trouble inside the Church. When then he realized to be gay, it was a reason more to leave that faith. From that moment on, Micah tried in every way to find a plausible reason to be gay, he needed that, and he has never discarded any theory, he is almost obsessed in analyzing every one of them.
So, when he meets 17 years old Brendan, Mormon and gay, for him it’s joy and pain: he thinks Brendan can understand him, that they can walk a path together, towards the truth and far from the Church; problem is that Brendan has no intention of leaving the Church, au contraire, he is searching with all his own to find a way to stay inside the Church being gay.
As you can see, this is not a light book, sometime it felt almost like an essay on troubled adolescent. Sometime Brendan and Micah felt too small for the words in their mouths, but then, I thought, maybe they were the picture of the author, of what he went through, of who he became. Maybe, I thought, Brendan is the young author, when he still felt that to be part of something real he had to be part of the Church, and Micah is his older one, the one who understood that he can “be” without “being part of”. The author match made his two sides to find a way in the middle, he wrote the book to understand if he chose the right path.
There is a love story, and there are also some pretty intense sex scenes, but it’s more important the journey than the goal. As often when religion clashes with a not ordinary reality, the journey is not simple, it’s often sad, and the goal is not always perfect. But being Brendan and Micah so young, and also the author, maybe the journey is not yet ended and the goal can still change.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1439235279/?...
Micah is 21 years old and living alone; he was raised as Mormon by his mother, but his father was not, and already this caused him trouble inside the Church. When then he realized to be gay, it was a reason more to leave that faith. From that moment on, Micah tried in every way to find a plausible reason to be gay, he needed that, and he has never discarded any theory, he is almost obsessed in analyzing every one of them.
So, when he meets 17 years old Brendan, Mormon and gay, for him it’s joy and pain: he thinks Brendan can understand him, that they can walk a path together, towards the truth and far from the Church; problem is that Brendan has no intention of leaving the Church, au contraire, he is searching with all his own to find a way to stay inside the Church being gay.
As you can see, this is not a light book, sometime it felt almost like an essay on troubled adolescent. Sometime Brendan and Micah felt too small for the words in their mouths, but then, I thought, maybe they were the picture of the author, of what he went through, of who he became. Maybe, I thought, Brendan is the young author, when he still felt that to be part of something real he had to be part of the Church, and Micah is his older one, the one who understood that he can “be” without “being part of”. The author match made his two sides to find a way in the middle, he wrote the book to understand if he chose the right path.
There is a love story, and there are also some pretty intense sex scenes, but it’s more important the journey than the goal. As often when religion clashes with a not ordinary reality, the journey is not simple, it’s often sad, and the goal is not always perfect. But being Brendan and Micah so young, and also the author, maybe the journey is not yet ended and the goal can still change.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1439235279/?...
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews