Forever, by Pete Hamill. Little Brown & Company. 2002. 320 pages.
What would it be like to live forever? That's the premise of Pete Hamill's new novel, "Forever," which immediately brings to mind the recent film, "Gangs of New York." Both are set in New York, but Hamill's portrait of the city fills a much larger canvas.
The story, however, does not begin in New York. It begins in 1723 in the north of Ireland, where Cormac O'Connell was born. He grows up with the name of Robert Carson, fearing persecution if others think him to be Catholic. He isn't, but then he doesn't know what he really is, until his mother is run over by a coach owned by the Earl of Warren. She is crushed beneath it. Cormac's father, a skilled blacksmith, takes his wife's body home to her people to bury. There Cormac learns who he really is: Neither Protestant nor Catholic, he is a Celt with rituals and beliefs and mysticism that go back before both religions.
Soon after, Cormac's father is also killed when he refuses to sell his horse to the Earl of Warren. According to the beliefs of his ancestors, Cormac must now revenge the deaths of his parents by killing not only the earl, but also all of his progeny. And since the earl has gone to New York, Cormac boards a boat to follow him. On board, he befriends an African slave by the name of Kongo who is a babalawo, a sort of holy man capable of all sorts of magic. Kongo grants Cormac immortality, but only if he never leaves Manhattan.
The babalawo tells him that there will be many women in his long, long existence, but someday he will meet a dark-skinned woman that he will make love to in a cave and then pass over.
Cormac watches New York change. He fights the Revolution alongside George Washington and even saves his life at one point. He is involved with the draft riots during the Civil War and is a close friend of Boss Tweed. He works on various newspapers through the years and is also an artist. Through his eyes we watch as New York grows from a tiny village to the city it is today. Through all this, Cormac never forgets his vow to kill Warren and his descendants. The earl is dispatched early on, but Cormac can only deal with the others if they are in New York. He knows many women but loves just one dark-skinned woman.
The tale passes to present day and finally comes to Sept. 11. The woman he loves works in one of the World Trade Center towers. It is also time for Cormac to pass on to the other world. He is ready to go. Kongo is there to help him, but even though all whom he has loved through the years are there to greet him on the other side, the one person he really cares for is here, still living. What does he do? The ending is excellent.
"Forever" is a sprawling, historical epic filled with magic. Certain sections are more compelling than others. There are times when Cormac's past is more interesting than the dotcom world of today. Hamill takes upon himself a huge task, but one he is certainly capable of handling. Pete Hamill has had a long career of writing about New York for The New York Times, New York Daily News, New York Post, "The New Yorker" magazine and Newsday. Who better to know the city than one who has written about it so profusely?
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | March 25 2003 |