Most critics regarded The Dean's December (1982), Bellow's novel published immediately before this one, as a failure, and opinion is divided on whether Bellow regained his form with More Die of Heartbreak. The rambling, digressive first-person narrator and lack of direct action have been familiar features of Bellow's work since Herzog (1964; see separate entry), and some think that he has used this technique too many times; others regard such an approach as merely Bellow's way of telling a story and find the addition of humor in this novel refreshing.

Another motif, which appears in several of Bellow's other works, is the insistent contrast between human and other forms of life. Benn's plants seem closer to real existence than humans do, because they do not have to think about it. They achieve a kind of nobility by living in an eternal "now," like the eagle in The Adventures...