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The first Michael Byers book I ever read was his debut collection of short stories, THE COAST OF GOOD INTENTIONS, a treasure trove of delicate stories about the Pacific Northwest (where I was born, raised and continue to live). I met him briefly at a book fair the year it was published, 1998, and was fascinated by his approach to writing, his quiet intentions, and his tale of agents and "book people" already nagging him to write a novel. It's now 2003 and that novel is finally here, LONG FOR THIS WORLD, a compassionate and heartfelt book about middle-class existence in dot.com Seattle in the 1990s, centering on medical ethics and the lengths to which we will go for the ones we love.
Dr. Henry Ross is a geneticist living in Seattle with his loving family. Day after day he studies Hickman syndrome, a heinous medical condition that causes rapid aging and premature death in children. His wife, Ilse, is going through a midlife crisis, wondering why she shifted from doctoring the elderly to hospital administration. Their children are developing lives of their own --- Sandra with basketball and Darren with young love. Dr. Ross has stumbled upon a possible cure for the syndrome he has studied his whole life and weighs the ethics of performing it on one of his young patients. It could be a gold mine --- not only for the medical profession, but also for the financial well-being of the Ross family. However, he could also lose his license and face monumental legal troubles.
What makes this story so interesting is not the plot per se. That's not to say the plot isn't important or moving. It does indeed make the reader want to move from chapter to chapter to more fully understand Dr. Ross's dilemma and see what will happen to his young patient. What makes the story so intriguing is the characters themselves. They are as real as your next-door neighbors or your co-worker in the cubicle next to you. The reader lives in the Ross house, learns of their struggles and their happiness, understands their concerns, cheers them on when they do well, and empathizes with them when they don't. Some story lines are more involving than others (Henry and Ilse have stronger story lines and more vibrant personalities then their children do), but ultimately the novel is about family --- what it takes to keep this unit together and the relationships strong and healthy.
Byers, however, writes with such fluidity that the story sometimes flows too smoothly, like a river without ripples. It certainly moves forward to its destination and it's a pleasant ride, but LONG FOR THIS WORLD could sometimes benefit from more ripples and bends in the river.
--- Reviewed by Jonathan Shipley
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