Strauss's second book, The Real McCoy (2002), was based on the life of the boxer Charles "Kid McCoy." "The Real McCoy" was named a New York Times Notable Book," and one of the "25 Best Books of the Year," by the New York Public Library.
It was after this novel that Strauss won a Guggenheim Fellowship in Fiction Writing.
More Than It Hurts You
Strauss's third novel, More Than It Hurts You, his first in a contemporary setting, was published by PenguinPutnam in 2008. The book made a number of year-end best-book lists, and was also a national bestseller—reaching as high as No. 3 on both the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News lists, and No. 6 on the New York Post list, in July 2008. Publicity for the book was strong, and Strauss blogged about his extensive book-tour for Newsweek, and was featured on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and Good Morning America.
Strauss appeared on This American Life in a July 2008 episode titled "Life After Death," in which he talks about the effects of a traffic accident during high school, in which a classmate on a bicycle swerved in front of his car, and was killed. Although he could not have avoided the accident, and was not at fault, he still felt guilty, and it affected him for decades.[3]
His most recent book, The Queen of Tuesday, is a hybrid of fiction, biography, and memoir, focused around an imagined love-affair between the author's grandfather and Lucille Ball. Another critical success, it has received favorable reviews in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, the New Yorker, the Los Angeles Times, among many others. The Millions declared, of the novel, "The best book yet from one of our best writers."[7] In "New Pop Lit," Karl Wenclas wrote, "If Darin Strauss isn't the best contemporary American writer, he's near the top ... No one could write a better book!"[8] On NBC News, Bill Goldstein said "I love this book ... Brilliant."
Strauss has been called "a brave new voice in literature" by The Wall Street Journal,[10] and "one of the most sharp and spirited of his generation," by Powells Books, "sublime" and "brilliant" by The Boston Globe.[11]The Millions called him "one of our best writers"; NBC News called his most recent novel "brilliant," and the Austin Chronicle declared him one of "the best writers of his generation."
Personal life
Strauss is married to the journalist Susannah Meadows, who writes a monthly Newly Released Books column for The New York Times' daily Arts Section. He is the father of identical twin boys. He currently resides in Brooklyn, New York, and teaches writing at New York University.[citation needed]
A People's Fictional History of the United States (2006)
An Encyclopedia of Exes (2004)
Bloodshot: An Insomnia Anthology (2007)
Brooklyn Was Mine (2008)
Brothers (2009)
The Book of Dads (2009)
Top of The Order: Best-selling writers on Baseball (2010)
Other
Mr. Beluncle, by V. S. Pritchett; Strauss wrote the new introduction (2005)
Long Island Shaolin, one of the first Kindle Singles—short works published by Amazon; other Kindle Single debut authors include Jodi Picoult and Rich Cohen
