Frederick Busch's novel, MANUAL LABOR, was quite different from many of the later books he penned. Dual long interior monologues make up the book. The story of Phil and Anne Sorenson, married 9-10 years, and still childless, but not for lack of trying, is a sad one. Part one of the book, from her POV, a long unsent letter to her mother, is a clear expression of Anne's deep depression following multiple miscarriages. Wondering if her marriage is doomed to repeat the unhappiness of her parents' union, her extended 'rant' is often nearly demented, but always moving, and is very difficult to read. The second half is Phil's slant on things, as he tries valiantly to understand his wife's depression and 'hang in there.' A would-be poet unable to poeticize his experience, Phil turns instead to a journal, not sure exactly what it is he is writing, calling it finally "a domestic epic, yes, the whole world acted out in one little family, damaged and patched, like our house."

The two have sought healing in moving - twice, to New Hampshire and then to Maine - and in the 'manual labor' of the title, as they patch, repair and restore the wrecked old houses they buy, as they struggle to repair their relationship too.

Although the ghostly voices of the miscarried children play a small role in the plot, it is basically a two-person story. But then there are a couple other tortured souls: in Baker, a strung-out old friend who shows up once and causes trouble between Phil and Anne, and then Abe, a former lawyer escaping the Vietnam-era politics of Washington and a fractured family life. Yet more trouble for the damaged couple. It might be worthwhile to remember the biblical 'scapegoat' when Abe shows up and Anne is morbidly attracted to his terminal sadness.

MANUAL LABOR was only Busch's second novel, so I suspect this format was a kind of experiment for him, and I'm not sure if it was an entirely successful one, although it's at its best in the scattered dialogue and description of the interaction between the couple. Fortunately, Busch was not finished with the Sorensons. They show up again a few books later in the excellent novel, ROUNDS.

It was great reading this early 'seminal' Busch book. One of these days, I hope to get ahold of his very first novel, I WANTED A YEAR WITHOUT FALL, just to find out how it all began with Fred Busch. In the meantime, I still have several of his other books left to read. Stay tuned. ( )