Novels Now

American Rust
By Philipp Meyer
Completed March 9, 2009

For some reason, the debut novel by Philipp Meyer, American Rust, did not resonate with me. It took me two weeks to complete, which is unusual for my reading pace, and I wanted to abandon it at many times. I stuck with it, but in the end, I wish I had given up at page 50. American Rust had a lot of potential, but this dark and dreary tale of hopelessness and lost dreams fell short for me.

American Rust was the story of boyhood friends, Isaac and Billy. Isaac unintentionally killed a transient at the beginning of the story, and the story examined the boys’ inability to leave their dead-end town, the unhappiness of characters who did leave, and how friendships were tested. The author used different narrators throughout the story, which was distracting after awhile. In my humble opinion, a telling from one boy’s perspective would have been more effective.

Additionally, I was disappointed with the depiction of the main female characters, Lee and Grace. Lee was Isaac’s sister, a Yale graduate in love with Billy but married to another man. Grace was Billy’s mom who suffered from arthritis that left her hands crippled. Both women dealt with their despair by having empty sex with no-good men– over and over again, like a sad broken record.

Where American Rust succeeded was the illumination of former steel towns that later “busted,” leaving thousands of workers unemployed and unhappy. I often had Billy Joel’s Allentown in my head when I read this book. The imagery of the dried-up towns juxtaposed against the beautiful Pennsylvania countryside was not lost on me, and I appreciated what Meyer was trying to do with this element of the story.

I encourage readers to check out other reviews on American Rust before making a decision to read it. Many, many readers enjoyed this book, comparing Meyer to John Steinbeck and Jack London. I am particular about my characterization, and if a book does not meet my standards, I don’t enjoy it. This was the case in American Rust. ( )