Synopses & Reviews
The acclaimed author of
Chang and Eng returns with a literary showstopper a beautifully realized novel that at its heart is the story of a woman who will risk everything to feel something; a doctor whose diagnosis brings her entire life into question; and a man who suddenly realizes that being a good husband and a good father can no longer comfortably coexist.
Josh Goldin was savoring a Friday afternoon break in the coffee room, harmlessly flirting with coworkers while anticipating the weekend at home where his wife, Dori, waited with their eight-month-old son, Zack. And then Josh's secretary rushed in, using words like intensive care, lost consciousness, blood...
That morning, Dori had walked into the emergency room with her son in severe distress. Enter Dr. Darlene Stokes: an African-American physician and single mother whose life is dedicated both to her own son and navigating the tricky maze of modern-day medicine. But something about Dori stirred the doctor's suspicions. Darlene had heard of the sensational diagnosis of Munchausen by Proxy, where a mother intentionally harms her baby, but had never come upon a case of it before. It was rarely diagnosed and extraordinarily controversial. Could it possibly have happened here?
As their four lives intersect with dramatic consequences, Darlene, Dori, and Josh are pushed to their breaking points as they confront the nightmare that has become their new reality. Darin Strauss's extraordinary novel is set in a world turned upside down, where doctors try to save babies from their parents, police use the law to tear families apart, and the people you know the best end up surprising you the most.
Review
"The novel feels like an episode of Law & Order: SVU (without the predictability or the ads), allowing one-time wunderkind Strauss (2001's Chang and Eng) to shake off that sophomore slump and hit a homer." Marie Claire
Review
"Nothing in Darin Strauss's previous big novel, Chang and Eng, prepares you for the emotional wallop of More Than It Hurts You. At its core, this one is a thriller... Strauss uses his suburban malcontents to touch on election-year issues HMOs, race-baiting, gender politics so look for this one to dominate the conversation like nothing has since The Corrections.... Strauss hits you where you live." GQ
Review
"Josh Goldin agrees with his wife, Dori, that their infant sun ended up in the emergency room due to a freak illness. After all, he seems fine now. Which is why Josh doesn't understand when an investigation opens up to scrutinize their parenting. As the family is ripped apart, Josh and Dori are forced to confront the lies they've been telling each other and themselves." Redbook Magazine
Review
"Strauss' novel is most effective not in its sweeping, occasionally grandiloquent observations about society as a whole, but in its mastery of personal, domestic issues." Chicago Tribune
Review
"The narrative switches from medical to psychological to courtroom drama as each character is gradually forced to face his or her own reality. Highly recommended." Library Journal
Review
"Darin Strauss's latest is an eviscerating portrayal of contemporary American life, surgical and exact. At turns funny and disturbing, unsparing in its insights yet generous with understanding, More Than It Hurts You is a relentlessly rewarding piece of art." Colson Whitehead, author of Apex Hides the Hurt and John Henry Days
Review
"If you don't belong to a book club, Darin Strauss's bitter and brilliant new novel is reason enough to start one. You can always disband afterward, and in any case your discussion of More Than It Hurts You may be so heated that you'll never talk to those people again. Strauss has packed this gripping story with the whole radio dial of divisive, hot-button issues..." Ron Charles, Washington Post Book World (read the entire Washington Post Book World review)
Synopsis
The acclaimed author of Chang and Eng returns with a beautifully realized novel that at its heart is the story of a woman who will risk everything to feel something and a man who suddenly realizes that being a good husband and father can no longer comfortably coexist.
Synopsis
Read Darin Strauss's posts on the Penguin Blog Josh Goldin's happy yet unexamined existence is shattered one morning when his wife, Dori, rushes their eight-month- old son to the emergency room in severe distress. Dr. Darlene Stokes, an African-American physician and single mother, suspects Munchausen by proxy, a rarely diagnosed and controversial phenomenon where a mother intentionally harms her baby. As each of them is forced to confront a reality that has become a nightmare, Darlene, Dori, and Josh are pushed to their breaking points.
Darin Strauss's extraordinary novel is set in a world turned upside down-where doctors try to save babies from their parents, police use the law to tear families apart, and the people you think you know best end up surprising you the most.
About the Author
Darin Strauss is the author of the international bestseller Chang and Eng and the New York Times Notable Book The Real McCoy. Also a screenwriter, he is currently adapting Chang and Eng with Gary Oldman. The recipient of a 2006 Guggenheim Fellowship in fiction writing, he teaches writing at New York University.