January 21, 2010 – Book Journey

ABOUT THIS BOOK

Set in a beautiful but economically devastated Pennsylvania steel town, American Rust is a novel of the lost American dream and the desperation—as well as the acts of friendship, loyalty, and love—that arise from its loss. From local bars to trainyards to prison, it is the story of two young men, bound to the town by family, responsibility, inertia, and the beauty around them, who dream of a future beyond the factories and abandoned homes.

Left alone to care for his aging father after his mother commits suicide and his sister escapes to Yale, Isaac English longs for a life beyond his hometown. But when he finally sets out to leave for good, accompanied by his temperamental best friend, former high school football star Billy Poe, they are caught up in a terrible act of violence that changes their lives forever.

Evoking John Steinbeck’s novels of restless lives during the Great Depression, American Rust takes us into the contemporary American heartland at a moment of profound unrest and uncertainty about the future. It is a dark but lucid vision, a moving novel about the bleak realities that battle our desire for transcendence and the power of love and friendship to redeem us.

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Phillipp Meyer takes up right into the restlessness of the book from the first page, the first sentence even. We are introduced to Isaac, who’s mom has been dead for five years and he can not stop thinking about her. He has stayed home, passing on college to take care of his paraplegic father but stirs for something more… this is the passion that starts American Rust rolling page by page into what was meant to be an adventure and turned into something much more.

Isaac likes to do things, lets say the adventurous way not necessarily the easy way, or in many cases even the right way. Along with his friend Poe, they find themselves deep into a murder that becomes quite interesting due to twists and turns such as the Police Chief is having an affair with Poe’s mom. And this is just one example of how the plot of American Rust ripples through the small town.

It took me a while to get into the rhythm in which this book flows. Phillipp has a way with words and a certain method to his writing that I found at times harsh (the strong language was not a plus for me) and at other times refreshing ( for a first time author, heck for any author, Phillipp really can paint an intriguing picture using words that brought me into the action).

I agree when they say this book evokes the restlessness of John Steinbeck’s novels of restless lives during the depression. Restless is a great word to use to describe the characters that bring this book to life and I would expect this book to make its way into the Classics of tomorrow.

Philipp Meyer grew up in Baltimore, dropped out of high school, and got his GED when he was sixteen. After spending several years volunteering at a trauma center in downtown Baltimore, he attended Cornell University, where he studied English. Since graduating, Meyer has worked as a derivatives trader at UBS, a construction worker, and an EMT, among other jobs. His writing has been published in McSweeney’s, The Iowa Review, Salon.com, and New Stories from the South. From 2005 to 2008 Meyer was a fellow at the Michener Center for Writers in Austin, Texas. He splits his time between Texas and upstate New York.