Forever: A Novel, by Pete Hamill
Little, Brown and Company, 2002
Former editor in chief of both the New York Post and New York Daily News, Pete Hamill is a New Yorker through and through. Forever is truly his labor of love for the city.
This is the story of Cormac O'Connor, an Irishman who arrives in a budding America and, through fantastic circumstances, is bequeathed with the gift of immortality -- so long as he never leaves Manhattan island. But Forever is also the story of the birth of the great city of New York -- growing pains and all -- seen through Cormac's eyes.
The novel begins with Cormac growing up in an Ireland full of distrust and religious animosity. When both his parents are killed at the hand of the powerful Earl of Warren, Cormac vows revenge, and so begins what will become an epic quest to ensure no son of the Earl will live to carry on his bloodline.
Through the centuries, we see Cormac change against the backdrop of a more dramatically evolving New York City. Through ethnic uprisings and freedom fighting, up to modern times and the September day that shook the world, Cormac seeks not only the descendants of the Earl of Warren, but also the "dark-skinned woman" whose "body will be adorned with spirals." Only when he finds that woman can his soul be released to return to The Otherworld, where he can be joined with his loved ones, passed away so long ago.
While the main character is a work of fiction, you can see a lot of the author in him. Over the course of his many lifetimes, Cormac is frequently employed as a reporter, observing and participating in the city he loves. And this is where I see Hamill writing about his own love of the city and his love of the publishing world.
According to a source at Little Brown Books, Hamill celebrated the completion of his manuscript for Forever on September 10, 2001. "When the plane hit the first tower [the next day], he knew that he was going to have to revise."
If you are searching for the perfect novel to hunker down with, you need not look any further. Forever satisfies with its driving story, fascinating characters, and its heartfelt sincerity at portraying both a city and a man who have much to learn about themselves.
