American Rust is a beautifully told mosaic of words that endlessly describes the landscape of a dying Pennsylvania steel town. The lush backdrop of words intertwines the lives of Grace, Billy Poe, Buddy Harris, Lee, and Isaac.
These five people are caught in the web of a dying economy, and they live out their lives to survive. But when a murder takes place, the wrong person is blamed for the crime, and survival takes on a whole new meaning.
Meyer has a prose style that is full of life. Amidst the depression of his story, there is a landscaped beauty that grips you and holds you there. As I was reading this, I was drawn into each of the characters and pulled into their world. I couldn’t stop reading because I knew tragedy was just around the bend for one or more characters.
Tragedy is foretold in the back story of Lee and Isaac’s mother. She committed suicide by filling her pockets full of rocks and then drowning herself in river. Through out the book, Isaac is haunted by thoughts of his mother, and later by the man he killed.
Still, as a reader I had hope. Hope that all might be well for these characters. I don’t want to give anything away - as this is a great read, and has the feel of a true classic.
In the publisher’s note, she likens Meyer’s style to that of Steinbeck, and I would whole-heartily agree with that assessment. There is a flavor there that tastes metallic and yet sweet. Meyer manages to give you both worlds of opposite things: peace and war, death and life, the ugliness of modern change and primitive beauty.
Within all of that, Meyer also gives biblical references: the name of Isaac, Isaac likening himself to Jesus Christ, the river that is life and also death. The symbolism is there and the depth resounds in every sentence.
This a wonderful read, and I am looking forward to re-reading it to pick up on what was missed the first time. When I read the novel for this review, I was read it fast because I wanted things to work out for the characters. The old adage: I wanted to see how it ended.
Now, I want to go back and savor this novel, and perhaps pick up on some of the symbolism and metaphors I missed.
This book comes highly recommended. Meyer knows how to string words together into sentences and how to make those sentences spin into a story worthy of any reader’s time.
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