Trisha Shetty (Editor)

American Rust

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
7.4
/
10
1
Votes
Alchetron
7.4
1 Ratings
100
90
80
71
60
50
40
30
20
10
Rate This

Rate This

Cover artist
  
Matthew Lenning

Publication date
  
24 February 2009

Pages
  
367

Originally published
  
2009

Page count
  
367

Publisher
  
Spiegel & Grau

3.7/5
Goodreads

Language
  
English

Media type
  
Print (hardcover)

ISBN
  
978-0-385-52751-4

Author
  
Philipp Meyer

Genre
  
Novel

Country
  
United States of America

American Rust t2gstaticcomimagesqtbnANd9GcThfkOqR5LEoxARkn

Similar
  
Saga books, Novels

American Rust is American writer Philipp Meyer's debut novel, published in 2009. Set in the 2000s, American Rust takes place in the fictional town of Buell in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, which is in a rural region referred to as "the Valley" of dilapidated steel towns. American Rust focuses on the decline of the American middle class, good-paying manufacturing jobs, and the general sense of economic and social malaise of what has become known as the New Gilded Age. Meyer's novel received rave reviews from book critics; many publications ranked it one of the best novels of 2009.

Contents

American Rust was published in 2009 in the United States, Great Britain, Australia, and The Netherlands (in Dutch); in 2010 it was published (in translation) in France, Germany, Italy, Korea, Israel, Greece, and Serbia.

Writing style

The structure of American Rust is that of a third person, stream-of-consciousness work influenced, according to Meyer, by writers such as James Joyce, William Faulkner, Virginia Woolf, and James Kelman. Comparisons to other books vary somewhat, but mostly include works by modernist writers. The Baltimore Sun compared the novel to the works of Faulkner. Roger Perkins of the UK Telegraph, Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times, and Ron Charles of The Washington Post compared it to the works of Cormac McCarthy, Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, and J.D. Salinger. Geordie Williamson, head literary critic of The Australian, compared Meyer to Steinbeck in a radio interview, saying "John Steinbeck is alive and well, and his name is Philipp Meyer." Williamson also compared Meyer to Sinclair Lewis and Nathaniel Hawthorne in his printed review of American Rust in The Australian.

Reviews

American Rust was released to general acclaim from book critics. Michiko Kakutani wrote for The New York Times: "'American Rust' announces the arrival of a gifted new writer — a writer who understands how place and personality and circumstance can converge to create the perfect storm of tragedy." Roger Perkins of The Telegraph called the novel "a terrifically impressive dissection of loyalty and honour." Michael Heaton of The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) praised Meyer's "gift for illuminating his tense, grim story with sparse but glittering detail." Vick Mickunas of Dayton Daily News wrote, "Novelists spend entire careers trying to write even one classic book. Philipp Meyer has accomplished that feat on his first attempt."

Accolades

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Idaho Statesman, The Economist, and Taylor Antrim of The Daily Beast all voted American Rust one of the best novels of 2009. The novel also won the 2009 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for First Fiction. It was a top-10 choice for The Washington Post, a top-100 choice for the Kansas City Star, and a New York Times Notable Book of 2009. Additionally, it was named one of Newsweek's "Best. Books. Ever." in July 2009.

Characters

Isaac English: Nineteen year-old protagonist of American Rust. A recent high school graduate, who, despite his academic potential, does not attend college and has little hope for leaving his hometown or achieving economic mobility. Remains to help care for his elderly father. Resolves to ride the rails to Berkeley, California to become a student of physics with $4,000 stolen from his father's personal savings, though is ultimately unsuccessful and returns to Pennsylvania.

Billy Poe: Twenty-one year-old best friend of Isaac, former high school football star, though he does not share his friend's dedication to academics. Receives an opportunity for an athletic scholarship to play football at Colgate University, though declines. Becomes implicated in murder in self-defense at an old trainer plant as he and Isaac plan to leave Buell in the opening of the novel. Becomes incarcerated, sacrificing himself to allow Isaac to leave his hometown.

Lee English: Isaac's older sister who escapes their hometown to attend Yale University where she feels insecurity due to her social class and where she grew up. Lee lives in Connecticut and is married to the wealthy Simon, who does not appear directly in the novel. She also has an affair with Poe, whom she dated before she was married.

Grace Poe: Billy's mother, forty-one years old, who has an affair with Harris. Works as a seamstress, has a work-related repetitive stress injury in her hands. Fears that her job will be outsourced and that she will be reduced to working a minimum wage job.

Chief Bud Harris: Police chief who investigates the murder committed by Billy and Isaac and has an old relationship with Billy's mother Grace.

Steve Ho: Policeman and Harris's partner

Henry English: Father of Isaac and Lee. Old, sick, and wheelchair-ridden. Commits suicide at the conclusion of the novel to relieve Isaac the burden of taking care of him and to allow Isaac to leave his hometown.

Film adaptation

Universal Studios has planned a film adaptation of the novel, with Walter Salles set to direct.

References

American Rust Wikipedia