Forever

Sorry for the delay in posting guys. It took 143 pages just to get to the point in the novel I'm reading (Forever by Pete Hamill) at which the protagonist, Cormac, reaches New York City from Ireland. Not that the first few chapters weren't interesting. There was a lot of important foreshadowing going on--like Cormac's father instilling in him a love of justice, which is going to make slavery's prominence in America a hard pill to swallow.

Once in New York, Cormac gets some still-relevant advice from a fellow ship passenger: don't let anyone carry your bag, don't accept drinks from strangers and ignore the come-ons from working girls. I appreciate the un-romantacized depiction of New York, which allows Cormac to appreciate the architecture of Trinity Church and City Hall while his friend preaches resentment of the structures because they were built by the English who, he argues, want to impose the Church of England "on people who're not the least bit interested" and who equate "Security" and "Order" with "God and King." While Cormac is in awe of the many languages spoken in New York, he also notices how many African slaves, bought and sold at Slave Market on Wall Street, make up the population in New York. The hard work of willing immigrants is glorified, but the importance of slave and indentured servant labor is not forgotten. which seems appropriate.