Frederick Busch

Rescue Missions

Stories

“A range of small human dramas evoked with emotional intelligence and perfect pitch.”—Amanda Heller, Boston Sunday Globe

Some of the stories in this “brilliant” (Library Journal, starred review) collection feature the war in Iraq, and others feature domestic wars; in every case, a character seeks to comfort or to save someone. Physical love, familial love, the need to give comfort—and the need for comfort—are themes skillfully rendered by this “master of the genre” (Booklist, starred review), whose achievements earned the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award of Merit for lifetime achievement in short fiction.

“Busch belongs to the Chekhov-by-way-of-Cheever tradition of postwar fiction, producing stories and novels that dramatize with exquisite discernment the pains and muted joys of domestic life. Rescue Missions collects fifteen of the most heartbreaking, gorgeously made stories any reader could ask for. ... No review can do justice to Busch’s uncanny way with flashback and exposition. ... Read this book. It will remind you what stories are for.”—John Repp, Cleveland Plain Dealer

Frederick Busch (1941–2006) won numerous awards and taught at Colgate University for many years. His books include North, A Memory of War, and Don’t Tell Anyone, a New York Times Notable Book.