Forever and ever, almost by Scott Bissett
Emotional, Memorable, Absorbing
Forever and Ever, almost by Scott Bissett - Author 
I think most people have ‘a person,’ a boyfriend, girlfriend, or a spouse, perhaps your bestie doubles up as ‘your person’, I don’t think they are mutually exclusive. Some people are lucky to find ‘their person’ early on, and have them right through to adulthood, maybe until the end. However, I think there are a number of people who, through the course of their lifetime, have many individuals that they refer to as ‘my person’. Humans are fickle, and a friendship can be lost through a disagreement from which there is no coming back, or maybe one of you wants to move on. It could be down to a lifestyle choice or change...a house move or maybe the introduction of a new spouse on one side that alters the dynamics. Gender really changes the value in a connection too. And then sometimes, if you’re fortunate enough a really special person, your person from long ago that you lost touch with, may come back into your life, and despite the years, nothing has changed...and maybe they will stay forever and ever.
I feel I’ve spent most of this year, either waiting for, or reading Scott’s work, discovering him through another author I follow. I read his first and second novels concurrently, and then had a short wait until the release of his third. He has written four novels, all of which I have now read and own. I’ve certainly noticed the progression of his writing in this time. Across the first three novels, he retains certain characters from the previous books, which for me, was comforting and familiar, whilst mixing them with new ones, playing with how the characters know each other and joining up their affiliations. There are less characters carried over in the third book, demonstrating I think, a confidence. However, in the third and fourth book, which are a much larger volume than the first two, the creation of other players really takes off and in ‘Forever and ever, almost’, there are none of the familiar personalities from previously and he presents the reader with a fresh cast, whilst still keeping the setting the same, mentioning streets and venues that a reader of his work would recall. The possibility then that Heather and Jason could be crossing the road and pass by Will and Bex feels like Scott has created his own little world, and to me this adds something to his compendium of stories, without it being a series. 
From part one of ‘Forever and ever, almost,’ starting a couple of chapters in, I knew that this was going to a beautiful book. In taking the main characters back to their childhoods, he creates and cements a bond between Bex and Will, tasking them with navigating a dynamic the like of which they have never experienced before with such innocence whilst acknowledging, even at that tender age, of the solemnity that comes with being your person’s person. The responsibility that comes with being entrusted with the thoughts, feelings and emotions of another human. In the intervening years as they reach the stage between childhood and teenager, their low-key romance and flirting with the future were a perfect way to convey their adolescent admiration for each other.
The beginning of the phase that follows, delivers not only a bombshell for Bex and Will, but also one for the reader, as their young lives experience a seismic shift, threatening their friendship’s delicate foundations. This is heart-wrenching because you intensely feel their sense of trepidation of being alone in the world. It was at this point that I was slightly disappointed that the author didn’t tackle the direct aftermath, but moved the story on two years, beginning with ‘part two’. Being someone who has the memory of an elephant when it comes to pretty much anything, being asked to accept that memories from a time not that long ago had all but been brushed aside along with the person involved, was challenging. I did consider their ages and that time had moved on, but it still felt a bit off to me, probably because I wasn’t ready to let go of the connection. 
This book has caused me to reflect on my own relationships and how often ‘my person’ has changed throughout my life and the reasons for that change. It would have been good to have known how the transition between Bex and Sophie was brought about, as they had a very different dynamic in their earlier years. I once had a relationship like these girls, and am familiar with ‘the ache when you realise something has ended, even if it was you who ended it’. With quotes such as ‘running eyeliner is a metaphor for life’ and ‘It feels like I have walked into the wrong life and am too polite to ask for directions out’, many will find Bex and Will’s experiences relatable.
The various periods of Scott’s leading characters’ lives were written with a touching authenticity. I could relate to emotions and the more challenging stages. Bex being in a meeting at work took me back, as I used to work in a similar environment and recall having the exact same thoughts. Will’s journey is quite different but his thought processes remain the same. When he takes Jamie to his Gran’s, I just knew what was going to unfold, although it still felt abrupt and heartbreaking. The author choosing not to detail the days after that, frustrated me a little, with it being such a tumultuous event.
The way in which the author teases the reader when the two main characters repeatedly end up in the same place and just keep missing each other, was a clever way of developing Bex and Will’s story, making you wonder every time, if that time, was going to be when they finally meet.
The sporadically injected humour was so on point. Paul the plumber was an hilarious character who lifted every scene he was in, and the Christmas party where Bex sums up the previous year’s party as ‘Last year was grim. Zoom party with that frozen quiz screen and watching Gail from HR try to unmute herself for twenty minutes’. I was still snorting about that several chapters on! I also loved the connection Will, Kev and Bex have, extremely cleverly concocted and heart-warming. I also now know what a square sausage is!! 
The last couple of chapters are just flawless. The oak tree, the memories that you so want them to recollect, the hesitations at being alone at something that is so demanding of a plus one, and that amazing plot pirouette, that made me WhatsApp the person who I knew would appreciate my elation the most.
Despite my pet hate – I’m not a fan of time lapse, I want to know everything (!), I wholeheartedly recommend this novel. It is sentimental, heartbreaking, hilarious and heart-wrenching. The kind of narrative where you want it to last forever, but you are desperate to reach the end. Another one to add to my increasing row of Scott Bissett novels.
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