A very different novel as it begins in 1734 in a small Irish town and ends in 2001, just after the Twin Towers have collapsed, the result of a terrorist attack. We, the reader, are given first hand accounts of what it was like to live at various times in American history, as we follow the ageless, never ending life of Robert Carson or Cormac in the novel. He represents the quintessential Irish immigrant experience, as he lives through close to three centuries, much of it the history of the New York City. We see Cormac's hardscrabble life in Ireland, where his parents are murdered by an Earl. Cormac vows revenge on the Earl and his family, walks into his mansion and kills him and flees to New York via a ship. On this ship, he befriends Kongo, a slave and shaman bound for America and is granted the gift of immortality for aiding the Africans during the journey.
This device allows the reader to follow Cormac's life, his many roles, professions, friendships and conflicts over the next two hundred and fifty years. Cormac is at times a journalist, dime novelist, painter, a worker on the Subway system, the Woolworth Building, and The Brooklyn Bridge, and a musician. His life allows us to live during the Revolutionary War, the stinking, plaque ridden days and riots of the 1830's, the Boss Tweed machine, and finally, 9/11. For some reason, neither of the World Wars are mentioned, nor is the Vietnam War given much more than a cursory mention. We meet Cormac's many lovers but he never loves for long because he know they will die and he will live on.
This changes in the last part of the novel as he meets his destined soul mate, who bears him a son, so his name will live on even if he won't. One interesting and unexpected thread woven throughout the novel was the emphasis on the African American experience, as Cormac, beginning with his experience with African slaves on the ship, befriends many Africans and understands their importance to the American experience despite the discrimination they constantly face. And he does anything he can to help them gain their freedom and the respect of the American public. It's one of few novels that take in to account the African experience over the centuries.
In a nutshell, the novel's two things: a history of New York City and the Irish immigrant experience.
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