More Than It Hurts You

A hospital, a family, a doctor, an explosive trial. I was riveted from the beginning -- a baby in intensive care -- and stayed riveted to the end, when it seemed a whole culture was in intensive care, or needed to go under the knife. Strauss takes on the modern world: this means identity politics, media, law, relationships -- and a weird alliance/loyalty to truth-telling. I'd love to know if the author was thinking about some of the giant "I'm-sorry-I-can't-recall" trials of the last few years with the big scene at the end. It felt true, sickening, thrilling, moving. It's the kind of book you don't just read; it's a book you want to argue w/ the writer, then argue w/ other readers. I wanted to sit down when it was over and just go through my impressions: so many thoughts after finishing this novel.

This book is what you want in a novel; it's a literary page-turner. i couldn't put it down, and yet it stayed with me long after it was finished. No wonder it got such good reviews. My favorite novel of the last five years....

I loved this book. The writing was so colorful, the characters were super in depth. There was several lines that the author used to describe things the characters were feeling, thoughts going through their head, that made me go "hey! I know exactly what he's talking about." He made me recognize things that I've never put words to - that is a great characteristic for an author, and is really why we read, isn't it? In fact, there was an explanation from one of the characters on why he or she was reading, and when I came upon that part, it was a zinger! I had to say "aha! exactly what I've been thinking but never put into words." Great story line, very very gripping.

Darin Strauss is a unique voice in contemporary fiction. As a writer, I had to resist highlighting every brilliant metaphor and passage in this gorgeous book, lest my book be covered in pen. Like his two previous novels, "Chang and Eng" and "The Real McCoy," "More Than It Hurts You" is a real page-turner, a book you won't want to put down. The portraits Strauss paints of new parenthood, marriage, the suburbs and race are simply unforgettable. I just hope we won't have to wait as long for Strauss' next novel as we did for this one -- but don't get me wrong: it was worth the wait.

More Than It Hurts You is what I like to call "full-dress fiction." That is, it's everything that fiction is supposed to be. It has a contemporary, realistic plot, but it's so much more than a "problem" story. The author uses this medical story to make some really telling insights about American life today. His characters are fully drawn, you're often not sure who the real villains are, and even when you are, you still have a basic, human sympathy for them. The author really takes you fully into their world, which is what I want from a novel. I've enjoyed Strauss' previous, historical novels, but this one strikes home. It is a treat.