Autumnsong: Book | The Hunger by Whitley Strieber

The Hunger | Whitley Strieber |
Simon & Schuster Pocket books |
Oxford Union Society Library |
357 pages

"Everyone knew the sins of Miriam Blaylock. Her crime, and it was an unforgivable one, was to enjoy human beings as friends and lovers, rather than to simply exploit them. She could kiss them and find it sweet, have sex with them and afterward sleep like a contented tiger.

When I first watched The Hunger (1983), the movie seemed like it had been made exclusively for me. The vampires, the cello, the passion of it all... It was heartstopping. Which is why when I saw the book from which it was adapted at the "new acquisitions" shelf at the Oxford Union Library a few months ago, the temptation was too great to resist.

The book does not disappoint.

The story, is essentially the same as that of the movie, which I have written about, already, when I first watched it, a few years ago. Miriam Blaylock is a vampire. Not a human who was turned into a vampire at some point in the past, like in so many other stories, but an entirely different species, gifted with everlasting life. She is capable of sharing her gift with humans, transforming her companions into beings with unnaturally long life. But not forever. Invariably, they wither and die.

At the beginning of the story, Miriam's husband, John, is dying. He doesn't quite understand what is happening to him, or why the Hunger that plagued him since Miriam's first bestowed her gift upon him is burning stronger. As he decays, Miriam watches, lamenting the inevitable end of someone she loved so dearly. She is looking for a new companion, and a woman, Sarah Roberts, draws her attention. Sarah is a brilliant physician-scientist, one whose research is very close to explaining Miriam's very existence, even though Sarah hasn't really met her yet. But she will. Miriam will make sure of it.

One thing that surprised me about the book, in comparison with the movie was how much time they spend trying to explain Sarah's research, with some techno-babble about her work with Rhesus monkeys and specific cell lines. It's the kind of thing I don't generally care for in science fiction. What I did care about were the characters, and specifically, how well the author described the intimacy that took place between them.

"Sarah wanted to be held..."

One scene in particular was so intriguing that I found myself reading it again and again before I could move on. It was the ending of chapter seven and beginning of chapter eight, when Sarah visits Miriam at her home after Miriam has been to the clinic posing as a patient. Something happens there and Sarah looses a few hours. She was asleep, Miriam says, and when she wakes up in the vampire's bed, Miriam suggests she takes a shower:

"Sarah got up, grabbed the bedstead as mild vertigo passed through her system , then unhitched her skirt and tossed it on the bed. In a few moments she was naked, walking toward the roaring of the shower. Miriam looked pleased. Her sleeves were rolled up, an old fashioned bath brush dangling from her hand. The room was filling with a marvelous rough-sweet scent. Sarah hesitated, suddenly aware of what she was doing, astonished at her own nakedness. But the scent was so appealing, it seemed to draw her on.
(...)
'Open the window, you can look out on the garden while I do your back.' While Sarah hesitated, Miriam laughed. "It's OK, it's perfectly private." Sarah raised the sash. The breeze was delicious coming into the shower, and the only way she could be seen would be with a telescope from a boat in the East River. She leaned against the sill and looked down into the flowers as Miriam first massaged her neck and shoulders and then washed her back and buttocks with mountains of heady lather. The delicately bristled brush ticked delightfully. It was most relaxing. She didn't stir as Miriam did her thighs and calves, then sluiced her with water. There came a gentle tug at her shoulder and Sarah turned around. She let Miriam bathe her, feeling a little embarrassed and more than a little touched. It was very, very pleasant to feel the brush on her abdomen, then sweeping down her legs amid all that wonderful yellow-green soap.
(...)
The kiss that came was small, little more than a peck, but it was on the lips. Sarah chose to take it as a gesture of friendship and smiled into it.
(...)
She sat watching as Sarah dressed. To be admired so openly was pleasing to Sarah and she found herself adding a touch of grace to every movement. Miriam made her feel beautiful, and as she regarded herself in the dim mirror that hung above the vanity a little proud. She had not felt this sense of intimate female friendship since she was a child."

Wow... That's all I have to say... Just... Wow.

The ending of the book left a bad taste in my mouth. More so even than the movie, judging for the review I wrote back in 2019. There are things about Sarah's attitude that are written as if they are obvious and human, but that made no sense to me at all. And yet, despite the ending, I enjoy this book enormously. I will definitely get a copy for my personal library.