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Book Reviews of American Rust

American Rust
American Rust
Author: Philipp Meyer
ISBN-13: 9780385527521
ISBN-10: 0385527527
Publication Date: 1/12/2010
Pages: 400
Rating:
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 26

3.7 stars, based on 26 ratings
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

8 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed American Rust on + 46 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Although fairly well written, I kept reading this book hoping to find redemption, hope, a light in the forest somewhere. Didn't find it. All these characters are a mess. Abrupt ending, very unsatisfying. Disappointing.
reviewed American Rust on
Helpful Score: 1
Not an uplifting book but shows how one decision can alter so many lives. Well written - kept my interest. Did it for my book club and had interesting discussion.
reviewed American Rust on
Helpful Score: 1
A disappointment. Overrated.
reviewed American Rust on + 379 more book reviews
After finishing American Rust, I felt the same way I did after I'd read Grapes of Wrath. The rust in the title is applicable to the decaying mining town in western Pennsylvania and to the essential spirit of those who live there.

It is an astounding debut novel because it fully captures the motivations and broken dreams of the main characters by devoting alternating chapters to each one while being told in the third person. The plot is bleak, depressing and violent as it alternates from life in the mining town to incarceration to a young man trying to run away from his memories.

The aspect of this novel that saves it from utter hopelessness is the strength of the friendship between Issac and Poe. There is an honor in their unstated commitment to each other that transcends the boundaries of their lives.
Hophead avatar reviewed American Rust on + 285 more book reviews
A different kind of novel for me, but I really enjoyed it. Highly recommended.
reviewed American Rust on + 2 more book reviews
Really liked this book. Looking forward to his upcoming new novel.
reviewed American Rust on + 289 more book reviews
Philipp Meyer did a great job setting up the scene and characters readers can get behind in American Rust, but once he sets them in motion, the momentum peters out. In Rust Belt America, Issac and Poe encounter trouble in an abandoned steel mill that threatens to unravel their lives. However, once this central conflict is presented, the two young men and other characters in this small-town drama go off into their own internal conflicts. All the voices sound distinct, but towards the end the story doesn't come together, just as formerly prosperous steel towns in rural Pennsylvania never recovered. This book on the list of 1001 books you should read before you die offers a stark view of an American postindustrial dystopia.
reviewed American Rust on + 18 more book reviews
Excellent read. Meyer has a real feel for the people of that moment in that place. Recommend.