I Couldn't Love You More

February 27, 2012
In Medoff’s poignant—though occasionally melodramatic—follow-up to Hunger Point, 38-year-old Eliot Harmon is a hardworking mother of Hailey—and stepmother of Charlotte and Gail—in Atlanta’s suburbs, where she lives happily enough with her partner, Grant, and the kids. However, Eliot’s close ties to her mother and sisters Sylvia and Maggie put a constant strain on her relationship with Grant. As if that weren’t enough, Eliot’s college boyfriend, Finn—whom she never quite got over—reappears and wants back into her life. As Eliot struggles to choose between the man she loved and the man she loves, a mishap at the beach forces everything into perspective. Distracted as Finn divulges his still-strong feelings over the phone, Eliot loses sight of Hailey and Gail, who are swept separately out to sea. Unable to save both, Eliot must make a terrible decision, one that will put her entire life—past, present, and future—suddenly into perspective. Medoff’s exploration of fidelity, family, and parenthood provides a complex look at the difficult role of a stepparent. Agent: Jennifer Gates, Zachary Shuster Harmsworth.

Starred review from May 1, 2012
Medoff's talent for characterization is evident in her latest novel, a richly layered tale about that complicated thing called family. Eliot Gordon is Everywoman--a working mother of three, she has complicated relationships and just a few minutes to spare at the end of the day. She dotes on her girls, 4-year-old Hailey and her stepdaughters, 7-year-old Gail and teenager Charlotte. She adores Grant (though they're not married and no one's sure why). And she is an active member of the Gordon Girls, consisting of youngest sister, Maggie, the comically imperious middle sister, Sylvia, and their mother, a novelist who spent their childhood hunched over a typewriter. It's a good life except for the occasional intrusion of the Sculptress, Eliot's code name for Grant's first wife, Beth, a self-absorbed painter (she specializes in vagina self-portraits) who barely has time for Gail and Charlotte and expects Grant to support her art. And then Finn Montgomery appears. One of those impossibly beautiful men, Finn was Eliot's great love in college until he took a job in New York and never looked back. Now back in Atlanta (with a polished wife and daughter), Finn bumps into Eliot and all of her memories of heartbreak and devotion come rushing back. They begin a flirtation, secret calls and meetings (we see Eliot helplessly tumbling into almost adultery) and then Finn takes it further, confessing that Eliot is his true love. To Medoff's credit, the plot takes a sharp turn away from what could have been a conventional storyline; instead, at the beach and on the phone with Finn, Eliot turns for a moment, and when she turns back, both Hailey and Gail are drowning in the stormy Atlantic. Whom she chooses to save, and the consequences of her flirtation devastate everything she has. Heavy with guilt, Eliot tries to rebuild love. Medoff's fully realized novel beautifully explores the most important relationships we create: as parent, as sibling, as spouse.

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