Starting in Ireland in the 1700s, Forever follows the ordinary-boy-turned-hero Cormac on a revenge mission across the Atlantic to Manhattan, which somehow manages to result in him being granted eternal life by an African shaman — just so long as he stays on Manhattan. The rest of the book skips ahead to significant points in the island’s history to show how he attempts to live his endless life as fully as possible. Hamill is a New York based journalist, so this epic story tied to Manhattan is full of historical details, but unlike Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, most of that research shows through at inopportune moments. There are times when characters seem to say facts in a way that doesn’t provide nuanced context but instead feels clunky – like a scene where Cormac’s printshop master randomly begins discussing typefaces.

I wanted to like this but found myself abruptly lose interest in the Boss Tweed era. I read some reviews online, and there were several people who felt the book got much better at that point. So I skimmed the ending and called it a day. I actually really liked the beginning in Ireland and Cormac’s early days in Manhattan where he participates in a slave rebellion and the American Revolution. But the gift of eternal life seemed to come from left field. And then there’s a whole part where his moves in with a fancy prostitute mostly because she has a bathtub. This is definitely an interesting concept but this exploration of it didn’t do enough for me.

I really loved this memoir, though I have to say that the translation probably isn’t the best. It’s hard for me to be entirely certain since I can’t read the original in Japanese, but I’m guessing it’s no coincidence that Philip Gabriel has translated two of my less favorite Murakami novels (Kafka on the Shore and Sputnik Sweetheart). I kept feeling like there were nuances that I was missing.

Even still, I found this little memoir inspiring. It’s about running, but it’s also about writing. It’s about finding focus and keeping momentum. I kind of wanted to start running right when I finished it, even though I’ve never been able to figure out how to breathe right. I think it’s very likely I’ll read this again someday even though I probably won’t ever be a long-distance runner.

Getting through this hefty tome of “historical fantasy” is already no small feat for the average reader. My current commute rarely offers up a seat on the subway, so for weeks I was balancing this 700+ page hardcover library book on my pole-grasping arm, often finding my wrist a bit numb for a several minutes afterwards. I’d say it was the 200-page mark when I stopped wondering if I shouldn’t leave this for several rainy weekends.

Clarke’s novel is ambitious in many regards in addition to size: the magical nature of her world makes it difficult to avoid comparing to other magical British works (though her magic is done by magicians and has a dusty, scholarly nature) and the setting during the Napoleonic wars with many historical figures certainly required a lot of research and a lot of making that research unapparent (not that I know enough about that time to judge accuracy). These elements of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell are great but what is truly excellent about this novel is the characters.

There are perhaps just a few supporting characters who don’t really evolve or change during the story. The rest are all nuanced and transformable, which makes it all the richer. Several characters switched back and forth from the arenas of likeability and annoyability, relationships shift and deepen.

Early on, I felt like the story was fairly predictable and kind of guessed what was happening before things happened. But the end is amazing. You might read this whole book feeling it’s just a really long story, but by the end the complexities suddenly come into view. That sort of development can only come from such a long work. Every once in a while, it’s fun to delve into a book like this; though its length (and excessive footnotes) may turn a lot of people off, it’s lighthearted enough to make the effort worthwhile.