Hamill's protagonist, Cormac O'Connor, begins life in the North of Ireland believing that his name is Robert Carson, son of a rural blacksmith. Unfortunately, that talent does not succeed completely in integrating 9/11 into an already multi-textured narrative the final section of the novel is marred by being too heavy handed, too deliberate, and too forced. I am a New Yorker, and I can readily understand and commiserate with Hamill's wish to articulate 9/11 in some way and to react to it via a tool with which he is abundantly talented.
By the end of 9/11, after which nothing in New York would ever be the same, Hamill decided that the manuscript had to be revised. That celebratory day of his delivery of the manuscript was September 10, 2003. A more serious problem does damage Hamill's work. The novel's span encompassing well over 200 years, beginning in the early 18th century, Hamill had to attempt judicious selection of which historical periods to concentrate on, and readers may quibble with some of his choices and regret some of his omissions that in itself does not seriously damage the novel. Hamill acquits himself admirably in his evident knowledge of segments of both histories. As much a novel about its protagonist as it is a novel about that protagonist's adopted American home, Forever demanded considerable historical expertise, both of the protagonist's home country, Ireland, and his immigrant habitat, New York. Despite his commendable track record as a journalist, novelist, and memoirist, and despite his notable knowledge of and affection for New York City, this had been Hamill's most daunting project. PETE HAMILL Forever Little, Brown and Company, 2003, $25.95īY HIS OWN ACCOUNT, when Pete Hamill completed his novel Forever, and delivered the manuscript to his publisher, he felt an immense sense of relief and cause for celebration.
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