To Live Forever-Jack Vance novel, book review

To Live Forever-Jack Vance novel

AKA: Clarges (author’s preferred title)

To Live Forever is a 185 page novel that was first published in 1956. The title was changed to "Clarges" in 2002 when it was included in the "Vance Integral Edition."  Vance wrote in his biography how much he hated the title To Live Forever.  I've read this work several times and I liked it even better upon re-reading. It is only 185 pages long and is most interesting and satisfying when read slowly and carefully.

Although the storyline is engaging enough on its own, this novel is dense with ideas about society, life, culture, values, identity, meaning, etc. Ethical issues are laid out but in an impartial way. Do you really live forever if an identical clone with the same memory and personality takes your place if you die?  Is it fair or ethical to deny advanced medical treatments to those persons who do not participate in a certain program? Why not extend the life of everyone and attempt to find other planets to colonize or enforce some means of birth control to avoid overpopulation?

The plot is secondary and character development is kept to a minimum. The focus is on creating a world or society where eternal life is an option for which one may strive but only a few can achieve. As usual Vance presents many ideas and much action in a few pages. Technological and scientific explanations are kept minimal. It is a satirical and thought provoking novel, more like Jonathan Swift than hard science fiction. Many parallels can be made to other societies where people strive for power, wealth, fame, social status, prestige, etc. Unlike some novels of ideas, To Live Forever, is not at all slow or dull. Vance is simply too talented a writer to allow this to happen. The dialogue is lively and realistic and a fascinating alternative futuristic world and culture is created.  Whether it is a utopia or dystopia is debatable.

The setting is in the far future when medical technology can significantly lengthen human lifespan, allowing some select persons to essentially live forever. To avoid overpopulation, though, only a fixed number of persons who register under the Fair-Play Act and then work their way up through levels or "phyles" are granted the Amaranth level. At this level they are genetically modified and permitted to live in the city of Clarges forever. Participants are awarded points for their social and cultural contributions through productive employment and participation in civic affairs. Points allow them to move up through the five levels or "phyles". There is tremendous pressure to advance. The competitive culture and emotional stress frequently cause people to become mentally ill ("catto") and many are committed to mental hospital called a "palliatorys."

There are five phyles under the Fair-Play Act and anybody may enroll once they are 16 years old. Each phyle level entitles a person to live a specific number of years. Brood is level one and a person is allowed to live to 82 years, the average lifetime for a person who does not participate. A Brood level person needs to advance or an assassin will visit and terminate him or her after reaching the age of 82. It is not difficult to obtain the second level which is called Wedge.  At this level ten years are added to your life and you undergo a procedure that halts body degeneration so that you remain at the same age you were once you become Wedge level. At third level (Arrant) they add sixteen years more to your life so that you may live to 108. At fourth level (Verge) another 20 years are added so that you may live to 128. The fifth level is Amaranth, and if you reach that level you are put into "seclusion like a caterpillar" where a metamorphosis takes place and you develop the body of a 19 year old. This person will remain at that age forever with all the experience and knowledge he or she had acquired previously. If a person at Amaranth is killed or the body destroyed there is a clone with all the updated cognition, memory and personality traits of the original that takes its place. Each person at Amaranth has five back up clones called relics or surrogates. Persons who do not participate in the Fair-Play Act are called glarks and live however long they can without access to advanced medical and genetic treatment. They are held in low esteem.

The plot involves our main character, Garven Waylock, meeting a woman, “The Jacynth Martin.” She was 104 years old when she reached Amaranth phyle but is now "a transcendently beautiful girl of nineteen."  She has "The" before her name as an honorary title for being at Amaranth level but is hiding her phyle level to visit a place called Carnevalle where visitors or all ranks and phyles go in disguise at night to participate in "spectacular devices for diversion and thrill and catharsis." Garven works at Carnevalle and has a secrete past that he carefully hides. The meeting of Garven and Jacynth and their evening together change both of their lives forever and begin to have major consequences for the entire society.  A careful reading of this serious and thought provoking novel will yield much more satisfaction than a cursory reading.

This is a novel to read and re-read and seems like a very good book for a classroom discussion.  I’ve read this novel several times so far and rate it a 4 “Really like it.”