Synopses & Reviews
This wise and richly symphonic first novel by the award-winning author of The Coast of Good Intentions is a thoroughly contemporary family drama that hinges on a riveting medical dilemma. Dr. Henry Moss, a dedicated geneticist, happens upon a possible cure for a disease that causes rapid aging and early death in children. His discovery may hold the key to eternal youth, but exploiting it is an ethical minefield. Henry must make a painful choice: he can save the life of a critically ill boy he has grown to love — at the cost of his career — or he can sell his discovery for a fortune to match the wealth of his dot-com-rich Seattle neighbors. For help Henry turns to his close-knit family, and in their intimately detailed lives a story blossoms of unforgettable characters grappling with their own demons. Henry"s wryly intelligent wife, Ilse, longs to rediscover some passion as she faces middle age and languishes in a dead-end job. Their daughter, a high school basketball star, suffers setbacks and the pangs of early love, while their sweet, hapless son drifts into adolescence. These utterly real characters inhabit a story that, in Elizabeth Berg"s words, "will move you to tears and make you laugh out loud. It will also probably make you lie in bed at night and think about things that should be thought about: medical ethics, the moral choices of everyday life, the meaning of friendship and love and compassion, the need for connection."
Review
"[A] compassionate, richly detailed debut novel....[The] characterizations are so vivid and convincing that they are nearly hyper-real, as if Byers had set his protagonists under a microscope." Publishers Weekly
Review
"No one is overdrawn, everyone is as real and worth knowing as he or she can be....Deep and real." Kirkus Reviews
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"[T]he well-developed characters and richly described setting distinguish this book and linger in the reader's memory....[S]olid plotting, lovingly developed characters, and thoughtful exploration of social and cultural issues." Ellen Loughran, Booklist
Review
"Byers has written a moving tribute to the modern family, realistically addressing contemporary issues and creating engaging characters whose thoughts and feelings are wonderfully rendered....Great reading for all; highly recommended." Library Journal
Review
"There are many moments of quiet awareness and expectation in Long for This World, but it is also a noisy novel of manners and money." Kerry Fried, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"A medical-ethical thriller with a warm domestic heart...accomplished...sympathetic and engaging." Francine Prose, O, the Oprah Magazine
Review
"This story will move you to tears and make you laugh out loud. It will also probably make you lie in bed at night and think about things that should be thought about: medical ethics, the moral choices in everyday life, the meaning of friendship and love and compassion, the need for connection. Michael Byers is a master." Elizabeth Berg
Review
"Feels like a blessing, a gift....Byers's metaphorical langauge brilliantly captures a host of elusive, evanescent feelings....Poignant." Dan Cryer, Newsday
Synopsis
A wise and richly symphonic first novel, Long for This World is a thoroughly contemporary family drama that hinges on a riveting medical dilemma. Dr. Henry Moss is a dedicated geneticist who stumbles upon a possible cure for a disease that causes rapid aging and early death in children. Although his discovery may hold the key to eternal youth, exploiting it is an ethical minefield. Henry must make a painful choice: he can save the life of a critically ill boy he has grown to love at the cost of his career or he can sell his findings for a fortune to match the wealth of his dot-com-rich Seattle neighbors. Henry turns to his family for support, and in their intimately detailed lives unfolds a story of unforgettable characters grappling with their own demons.
About the Author
Micheal Byers received his MFA from the University of Michigan and was a Stegner fellow at Stanford University. His story collection, The Coast of Good Intentions, won the Sue Kaufman Prize for first fiction from the Academy of American Arts and Letters. Byers also won a Whiting Foundation Writer"s Award and was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Prize. His stories have been selected for both The Best American Short Stories and The O. Henry Awards. The New York Times called his stories "wonderful . . . shot through with the unexpected beauty of the ordinary."