Girls

by Frederick Busch

Book Overview

A New York Times Notable Book In the unrelenting cold and bitter winter of upstate New York, Jack and his wife, Fanny, are trying to cope with the desperate sorrow they feel over the death of their young daughter. The loss forms a chasm in their relationship as Jack, a sardonic Vietnam vet, looks for a way to heal them both. Then, in a nearby town, a fourteen-year-old girl disappears somewhere between her home and church. Though she is just one of...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0449912639
• ISBN13: 9780449912638
• Release Date: March 1998
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Exploring Human Suffering

What a troubled world we live in! Mr. Busch takes us into a world where girls are abducted and murdered, a story told from the perspective of a man troubled by his own secrets and his own loss, who is called upon to assist the family of a girl who disappeared. The story of what might be an abduction unfolds, evoking in Jack, the main protagonist, memories of his own unresolved tragedy. We witness his struggle as he investigates the disappearance, discovering along the way the heart rending story in which both he and his wife are entangled. Patience is required and rewarded in this painful meditation on human suffering.There are no heroes in this story, at least in a conventional sense, only human beings grappling with conflicting emotions. Mr. Busch gives us a main character at once admirable and tormented. There are no easy answers or happy endings here, only the nitty gritty challenges of life. That doesn't mean you won't care for these characters, you almost surely will. But the emotion evoked will most likely be empathy as you observe Jack, his wife and friends come to terms with suffering that is sometimes too much to bear. Mr. Busch is a master story teller and this book, despite its dark themes, is very much worth reading.

A Compelling Read

I came upon this book quite on accident, yet I'm pleased that I did! Frederick Busch, a prolific writer who has written over a dozen works since the 1970's does a wonderful job of telling the story of Jack, a Vietnam vet, who is struggling with the loss of his daughter, and the gradual loss of his marriage. Jack is a compelling character, with a wonderful narrative voice. There is a mystery of dead/missing girls which Jack gets wrapped up into, and yet, there is so much more here, like the healing process which Jack so needs to experience. If you're looking for a pure thriller/mystery about missing girls, then look elsewhere. If you want a richly layered novel with believable characters, a great plot, and with some unexpected surprises thrown in, READ THIS. I, personally, have just purchased two new Busch novels, and I can't wait to see how they stack up with Girls.

Highly Controversial and Glorious

Our college has a mystery book club. I don't read mysteries generally, but I liked the idea of all of us talking about books. When I recommended they read Girls, I figured everyone would love it as I did. Silly me. My colleagues (with only one exception) hated it. They hated Jack. They hated the story. They hated everything except the dog. I felt so bad until I realized that this is not a book for mystery lovers. Mystery lovers want tidy stories; there's comfort in a good mystery that makes life seem to have some sense, some logic. But Busch's writing is not a mystery of that type. It's a love story. It's a religious tract. It's a war story. It's the kind of book that grabs you by the throat and shakes you alive, whether you want to be or not. And readers who, for whatever reason, would prefer not to be shaken, hate the book. Busch is one of my favorite writers. He is magical and honest and always moves me deeply. But he does not write mysteries.

Absolutely riveting

This is one of those rare books where you have to just keep saying to yourself, "Wow! This author can WRITE! " Busch's command of the language is exquisite, and I thought his lead character was so wise and compassionate. I loved the way he cared so deeply about the kids on the campus he was hired to protect. The ending totally caught me by surprise-- and like the main character and his psychiatrist, I couldn't see a way through the paradox. If I had to change one thing, it would be to get rid of the professor/love affair thing. I didn't really feel it added anything to the story. I can't wait to get my hands on other things this author has written!

a meditation on loss

It is easy to come under the spell of Frederick Busch's almost meditative writings on loss.Girls is no exception. Jack is a security guard on a school campus. Fanny is a registered nurse at a local hospital. Their marriage is being destroyed due to the loss of their only child, a baby named Hannah. There is blame. Their is truth. Their is sheilding from the truth. There is pain. A minister and his wife, the Tanners, have a daughter who is a student at Jacks school. She dissappears and is feared kidnapped. Jack a former MP in Vietnam, although just a security guard, is asked to help find Hannah, the girl. Because of the estrangement of Jack and Fanny, Jack gets involved with a professor at the school.Throughout the book we wonder at how Hannah died. Not untl the end do we find the full facts about Hannahs death and the missing daughter of the Tanners.A meditation on loss.