T. C. Boyle’s “My Pain Is Worse Than Your Pain” (2010)
A classic short story about the desperate acts and philosophical consolations of a middle-aged man who has become romantically obsessed with one of his neighbors.
In January 2010, Harper’s Magazine published a stunning short story by T. C. Boyle that traces the desperate acts and philosophical consolations of a middle-aged man who has become romantically obsessed with one of his neighbors, a widow with whom he and his estranged wife were once close. Boyle later agreed to let independent filmmaker Adam Hall adapt the story into a short feature, which Harper’s is pleased to be hosting on our website until the fall. The author, whose fiction the magazine has been publishing since 1977, also graciously consented to allow us to make the story available online to all readers over the summer.
Read T. C. Boyle’s short story “My Pain Is Worse Than Your Pain”
View the short film My Pain Is Worse Than Your Pain
Read a Q & A with filmmaker Adam Hall.
