Forever: A Novel

I recently finished reading "Forever: A Novel" by Pete Hamill. My brother had read it, and he passed the book along to me. "Forever" (not to be confused with the Judy Blume book of the same name) is about a man named Cormac O'Connor who grows up in Ireland and makes his way to Manhattan in the 18th century. Here's the twist: as long as Cormac remains on Manhattan, he can live forever. So the novel proceeds through the colonial period, American Revolution, Civil War, etc., through September 11, 2001 with Cormac living through it all. Hamill skips over huge portions of history in the process. Oh, and Cormac is supposed to avenge the killings of his parents by an evil nobleman in Ireland. Overall, I found the book hokey and trite. Yet it was mildly entertaining. I've read worse. Score: 5 of 10.