Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

More Than It Hurts You

By Mary J. Elkins, Special to the Rocky

Published July 3, 2008 at 6 p.m.

Text size  

More Books

More stories »

* Fiction. By Darin Strauss. Dutton, $24.95. Grade: A

Plot in a nutshell: The author of the best-selling Chang and Eng returns with the story of Josh Goldin, a handsome young husband, father and successful advertising man. Everyone likes Josh, and his life is close to perfect until the day his wife, Dori, calls him at work from the hospital. Their baby is in intensive care, having "coded" shortly after having been brought in for what seemed like a fairly routine stomach upset.

The baby recovers, but some wheels have been set in motion. The young black female doctor who's in charge of the pediatric ICU is suspicious of the baby's condition and the mother's behavior. Soon the family must endure home visits from representatives of Child Placement Services, and eventually the police arrive and take the baby into protective custody.

Josh struggles with his anger and pain and his vacillation between supporting his wife and suspecting her. At the same time, the reader is brought into the turbulent life of the doctor, Darlene Stokes, a single mother whose long-missing, drug-dealing father has just been released from prison and wants contact with her. The painful intersections of these lives form the center and heart of the story.

Sample of the prose: "Stiff-backed, the two women had squared off - Dori's face blazing, Dr. Stokes holding her hands clasped, a hieroglyph of calm. They gazed at each other such a long, silent while that they'd slipped out of the rhythm of their argument. Everything felt very awkward."

Pros: There isn't a false note here: no sentimentality, no easy plot turns. In addition to the compelling movement of the plot, this novel subtly examines the ways in which biases (racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia) color the judgments that even sophisticated and liberal people make about one another.

Cons: The subject matter may not be to everyone's taste, but even this is a quibble, as it's handled so skillfully.

Final word: This is a gripping and compelling novel, destined to remain in your head for some time.