The Annotated Afterlife

19. The Art of Loving

Title
Has the same title as the philosophy book, The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm, which Julian took from The Wayfarers Arms in hopes it might help him navigate a relationship with Noel. It's a head up as to what is coming .... pardon the pun.

Quote
From "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", a folk song written in 1957 by British political singer-songwriter Ewan McColl. He wrote it about the American folksinger Peggy Seeger. They were both married to other people at the time, but after Peggy became Ewan's wife in 1977, they remained together until his death in 1989.

It's best known from the 1969 version by Roberta Flack, which only became a #1 hit in 1972 after Clint Eastwood chose it for the soundtrack to his film, Play Misty For Me. It's one of my favourite love songs.

Boosh Reality Check
When a guilty Julian tries to tell Noel that he (like Rudi) is not going Forward, he finds it difficult because Noel wants to make out with him. In desperation, he pleads with Noel not to touch him, and pushes him away. This is taken directly from The Mighty Boosh TV show, where Howard/Julian would constantly say "Don't touch me" to the flirtatious Vince/Noel. The implication was that Howard/Julian enjoyed the touching just a little too much for comfort.

Noel is shocked to hear that Julian has a good chance of being sent Back to Earth because he threw himself in a lake after a gig that Julian believed to be a failure. He gets angry when he hears that the catalyst was someone scribbling Fuck off and die on a flyer for the gig, asking, "If they'd written that you bum people for small change, would you have done that instead?" This is from the episode "Eels" on The Mighty Boosh TV show, where a mischievous Vince/Noel graffitis Howard Moon will bum you silly for loose change on their shop security doors.

When Noel discovers that Julian's actions may have led to his own demise, he loses his temper with him - shouting at him, and throwing books at his head. A reviewer said this was one of the most intense fight scenes they'd read in a romance book! It's based on reality, as Noel once got so angry at Julian that he threw his meal on him (curry, I think). Julian and Noel rarely argued, they say, and when they did, they made up very quickly and rather tearfully, just like in the story. 

The Four Gates
Noel tells Julian that the four gates into Mandela Park are Hope, Faith, Love, and Celestial. The message is that in order to reach the heavenly plane of existence, it is necessary to remain hopeful, faith, and loving.

This is taken from Dante's Paradiso, where Dante, as the narrator of the poem, is examined on the nature of faith, hope and love by Saint Peter, Saint James, and Saint John in the Heaven of the Fixed Stars. The scene takes place in the constellation of Gemini – Dante's own zodiac sign, and Noel's as well.

Faith, Hope, and Love (sometimes translated to Charity) are the three theological virtues required for salvation. Although they have specifically Christian meanings, I used them in the story in a far more general way.

In Christian legend, Saint Faith, Saint Hope, and Saint Charity are the daughters of Saint Sophia. This explains Sophia's name in Between Life and Death!

We know that the four avenues that come out of Tiferet Square are named after the four gates of Mandela Park – Julian and Noel entered the park at Hope Gate, and went to the Soulmates Tea Room on the corner of Love Avenue.

The Rose and Star is therefore on the corner of Celestial Avenue and Tiferet Square, as another hint that it is connected with those ready to go Forward. I never drew a map of the Waystation, but I could see it all in my head fairly clearly. I think I'll have to draw one if I write a guide to the Waystation.

Books About Forward
During his fight with Julian, Noel throws books about Forward at him that were lying on the coffee table. Just as The Wayfarers Arms had a library filled with books about Sideways, naturally The Rose and Star is equipped with books preparing the soul to go Forward.

The Joy of Forward: A parody of The Joy of Sex by Alex Comfort, a 1972 illustrated sex manual. Quirky and fun in style, it's been a perennial bestseller and a classic of its genre. The Joy of Forward may also be an illustrated "how to" manual about going Forward, delivered with warmth and a lightness of touch.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Forward, But Were Too Meek to Ask: A parody of Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Sex* (But Were Afraid to Ask) by Dr David Reuben, a 1969 sex manual that was one of the first to become mainstream, and is one of the biggest bestsellers of the 20th century. The book utilises a question-and-answer format, and I imagined the book about Forward also covered a lot of information in the same simple way. Its title refers to the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus says, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." In retrospect, this saying suggests that meek people get sent Back rather than go Forward!

I'm Blessed – You're Blessed: A parody of I'm OK – You're OK by Thomas Anthony Harris, a 1969 self-help book using transactional analysis. It was highly influential and a bestseller at the time. The book about Forward may have a similar model of helping the soul realise they are truly blessed by the Universe, and so is everyone else who goes Forward (which is everyone).

I was originally going to have a scene where Julian saw the library at The Rose and Star, which of course was huge, spacious, and stunningly beautiful, filled with classic works of literature and poetry, as well as books on Forward. However, it would have slowed down the plot and been a bit too much thunking the reader on the head. Instead Noel's suite is supplied with a personally curated selection of books from the library, which really seemed much more in keeping with the hotel's ethos.

(If you're wondering if it was deliberate choice to reference sex manuals in this chapter - yes it was). 

Chapter 19
It is in this, the nineteenth chapter, that Julian and Noel finally make love, which is an experience as equally emotional and spiritual as it is physical. I would love to say that this was planned from the start to tie in with Julian's nineteenth life and its message of hope, but I'm afraid it's just a pleasant coincidence.