War Babies [Paperback]

Frederick Busch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2001

Frederick Busch's novel War Babies is a short, powerful moral tale that sheds light upon the insidious nature of evil and the grip history holds on the lives of the seemingly protected innocent. Peter Santore, the narrator, is an American lawyer in his mid-thirties come to England to track down a certain Hilary Pennels, the daughter of a Korean War hero who died in a POW camp—the same camp in which Peter's own father turned traitor and whose informing became, perhaps, the cause of Hilary's father's death. Only Hilary's guardian, Fox—himself a survivor of the camp—can explain, if he will, the troubling past that haunts the now fully grown "war babies." As Frederick Busch's relentless narrative bears down upon this complexity of betrayals, the lines between exploiter and exploited become eerily blurred.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Though smaller in scope (and physical size) than Busch's last novel, the ambitious Night Inspector, this brief and carefully wrought tale of a man's struggle to come to terms with the role his father played in the Korean War is also more accessible and emotionally straightforward. Haunted by his father's muddy wartime record, 35-year-old American lawyer Peter Santore travels to England to find Hilary Pennels, the daughter of a man in his father's platoon whose death may have been caused by the elder Santore when both men were prisoners of war. Peter finds Hilary a highly sexual, sharply intelligent and headstrong woman quite easily and they have a lusty affair. For Peter she represents the thrill of transgression, the part of Peter's family history that he has previously been afraid to access. History looms, however, in the form of the frightening, half-mad, abusive Fox, Hilary's semi-guardian, another Korean War veteran. Fox batters Peter with stories of wartime monstrosities, some perpetrated by Corporal Santore. As Peter pieces the story together, however, it becomes clear that the corporal was himself a victim of the inhumanity of war, thus not entirely culpable. With relentless intensity, the novella manifests interior revolutions with expressionistic vigor. Throughout, Busch keeps a tight bead on the drama of the war babies' lively, believable relationship. Intensity of passion in counterpoint with gruesome wartime descriptions make this novel a strenuous read, but worth the strain. Over the course of his harrowing and well-told tale, Busch teaches the hazards and benefits of delving too deeply into the past. (June 29)Forecast: Recent media reflection on Bob Kerrey's war-crime culpability will provide reviewers with a handy hook for their explorations of Busch's latest fiction, though the book will enjoy less attention, and fewer sales, than The Night Inspector.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Frederick Busch is the recipient of the 1991 PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in Short Fiction, a National Jewish Book Award for Fiction, an Award in Literature from the National Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and the Woodrow Wilson, NEA, James Merrill and Guggenheim Awards. His novel The Night Inspector was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He is the Fairchild Professor of Literature at Colgate University, and has been the acting Director of the Writer's Workshop at the University of Iowa.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: New Directions; 2nd Printing edition (June 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811214761
• ISBN-13: 978-0811214766
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,976,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars War Babies, July 16, 2000

By 

Vicki Moss - See all my reviews

This review is from: War Babies (Hardcover)

Frederick Busch has written a supberb 114 page novella that delves into the psyche of two adults born during the years of the Korean War, or forgotten war as called by some. In his thirties and driven by associated guilt from his fathers actions while in a prisoner of war camp, Peter Santore sheds his lawyer suit to leave the States for England where he searches out the daughter of a hero from the same prison camp as his father. He yearns for peace from his troubling past and hopes to find answers from a total stanger. Through twists and turns and the introduction of Fox, an officer who survived the ordeal and lived to tell about it, vivid tales are retold of what life was like as a prisoner of war during this conflict. Busch weaves intrigue and mystery through betrayals and deceit centered around a whirlwind love story, leaving the reader with a surprise grand finale while paying a subtle homage to Thomas Hardy throughout. I encountered difficulty getting into this story with the first chapter but became engrossed as Buschs characters rose from the pages. An interesting fast read for those curious about the Korean conflict.