Busch's craft, imagination, and versatility are impressive, and his work has met with critical praise, yet he has not found the wide audience he deserves. Rounds, more conventional than his earlier work, may change that; although I don't think it is his most interesting book, it may be the most fully realized.

In a sense, [The Mutual Friend] also pays homage to Dickens, who was similarly preoccupied with domestic complexities as well as being a master of certain plot devices Busch employs here. There are important differences. Busch's scope is not Dickensian; he explores grand themes—love, birth, and death—but on a small canvas. Contemporary social issues are peripheral. And there are no monsters … in this gentle and very human book. Busch's characters are victims of time, biology, and misguided affections….

[Scrupulous] attention to detail marks all of his work, but here it is put at the...