Rescue Missions: Stories [Hardcover]

Frederick Busch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 17, 2006

Stories of mercy and need among lovers, family, and friends by "one of our very best short-story writers" (Anne Beattie).

The war in Iraq is present in some of these stories, and so are the domestic wars; and, in every case, a character seeks to comfort or to save someone. "The Rescue Mission" is narrated by a man who runs a rescue mission out of a trailer in upstate New York. In his attempt to save a young woman from the brutality of her boyfriend, he is forced to confront the reality of his own mother's death. In "Good to Go," an estranged couple try to save their grown son from the scars of war. Physical love, familial love, the need to give comfortand the need for comfortare themes skillfully rendered by a master of the short story whose achievements have been acknowledged with the PEN/Malamud Award for short fiction and the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award of Merit for lifetime achievement in the short story.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. American letters endured a major loss in February 2006 with the sudden death of the author of North, The Night Inspector and 23 other books. Set in the present—from the battlefields of Iraq (two stories: "Good to Go" and "Patrols") to upstate New York (where Busch taught for many years)—these 15 works share a common theme of people trying to provide relief to those in physical, emotional and mental peril. In "One Last Time for Old Times' Sake," a married man tries to stop his lover from ending their affair so that she can nurse her dying husband. The recently widowed grandfather of a preschooler tries to recover his grandson's lost superhero cape and winds up in an encounter with the boy's teacher in "The Small Salvation." A woman hospitalized as a suicide risk, in "Metal Fatigue," challenges her father's notions of mercy during his visit. Some rescues are successful; others appear to fail; in many cases the rescuers are in the process of saving themselves. Together they offer an incisive examination of the idea of beneficence. (Oct.)
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* "Need trumps love," in the words of one of Busch's indelible characters, and need in all its permutations infuses the final collection of stories from this master of the genre. Whether it's the obligation of a son to his dying father, the unfulfilled duty of a soldier fresh from the war in Iraq, or the demand for revenge of a former lover, the drive for recognition, connection, and affirmation is revealed as an essential life force. In Busch's hands, it thrums with an elegiac cadence, so subtle at times as to be barely perceptible, so strong at others as to take one's breath away. Though frequently spare in detail, Busch's stories are rich in his acute perception of the human condition. The dialogue is sharp without being antiseptic, and as precise as the knots of a fine oriental rug. Each word lands where it's supposed to, resulting in a satisfying whole that, paradoxically, often conveys a delicious ambiquity that keeps the reader slightly off-balance. A prolific writer often taken for granted, Busch's farewell offering is a collection to be treasured. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (October 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039306252X
• ISBN-13: 978-0393062526
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,881,014 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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