been reading: Forever by Pete Hamill

I guess I would categorize this novel as historical fiction, which is not a genre I've ever been interested in. But I thoroughly enjoyed this book, perhaps because it is much more than historical fiction. It is a swashbuckling tale, an epic adventure, a love story. Oddly enough, those sorts of storylines don't usually interest me either. But ah, at the heart of this novel lies something I can't resist: New York City.

Cormac, the main character, has been gifted with immortality provided he does not leave the boundaries of Manhattan. This premise is clearly an excuse for Pete Hamill to relate the history of Manhattan, his favorite subject, in a way that is approachable and engaging. He does this with a tale that is both rousing and reverent, and one that perhaps no one but Pete Hamill could pull off.

Through Cormac's eyes, we see Manhattan grow from a forest-covered island to a world metropolis. He fights in the Revolutionary War, and then 200 years later watches the Twin Towers fall. Everywhere he walks, he remembers things as they were before, and as they were before that. He knows the history behind every building, every neighborhood, every community. He has outlived lifetimes of friends and lovers; his only constant companion is the city itself.

Before reading this novel, I had not viewed places as living entities, and yet in many ways they are. Everywhere we go, there are histories we don't know, stories we can't see piled high all around us. Sure, accounts get written down (however accurately or inaccurately), but people forget to pass them down, which is something else entirely. And so with each generation, more of the past gets buried until it is forgotten completely by the collective consciousness. The stone steps of the courthouse or the trees in the park become our only witnesses to the past, and they aren't talking. A place has more permanence than the people passing through it, and in that sense it is alive.

Also, this novel reminded me of the importance of perspective. Throughout the history of New York, Cormac witnesses (and sometimes suffers from) many a scandal and scourge, crises that at the time seem impossible to recover from. And yet, society always manages to sustain itself, and eventually even to succeed. With all that is happening right now - national and global events I don't want or need to enumerate - it is encouraging to realize that throughout a history, and even just a lifetime, terrifying times become mere memories. Sometimes we overcome challenges and sometimes we are overcome by them and forced to adapt. But always there is a steady march forward - of time, yes, but also of progress.

This novel requires a suspension of disbelief similar to The Time Traveler's Wife. What's interesting to me about novels like this is the great reward that comes from not being restrained by reality. As a reader, I tend to prefer fictional situations that seem real and thus relatable; and yet, in both novels, the authors are able to explore things they couldn't if they played by the rules of reality. And that means I'm exposed to thoughts and ideas I wouldn't be otherwise, in real life or realistic fiction.

In many ways Forever is a study of what it means to truly live. Cormac is directed to spend his immortality living, not just living. He discovers that, for him, truly living means continually learning and coming to know and fully understand a subject. He becomes absorbed in painting, then delves into the intricacies of playing piano. He reads every book by an author so that he can become part of the writer's world. He believes that intimately knowing another person is also a way of truly living. And, he says, "Knowing a place [is] another." Observing and memorizing Manhattan is Cormac's greatest joy and, perhaps, Pete Hamill's as well. I can't help but wonder if Cormac's eternal life is wish fulfillment for Hamill, if he would wander Manhattan forever if he could. But then, Hamill's immortality will come not from living forever in Manhattan, but from forever bringing Manhattan to life for others.