American Rust: A Novel [Paperback]

 

 

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For those who've read them, I found Phillip Meyer a combination of Russell Banks and Richard Ford. Except for his first novel, Mr. Ford did not write about topics of a violent nature however his characters were very cerebral always thinking through their actions once, twice , many times to the point where I found his last book, Lay of the Land, pretty much unreadable. Russell Banks, writes about violence and, more specifically, about violence in the same part of the part of the United States that Mr. Meyer writes about. What makes Phillip Meyer different is that he writes about a very similar violence to Russell Banks however in a more intellectual, cogitative manner. To facilitate his cogitation, two of his characters possess near genius intellect. They are the offspring of a factory worker who lost his job at metal factory when the car makers of the world began looking to Japan and Germany for their high grade steel. The factory worker moves to Indiana in pursuit of work and is badly injured. His daughter moves away to pursue further education. His wife kills herself, and his son, Isaac, who should be going to the same institution as his sister stays at home care for his paraplegic father. The son's best friend, Poe, was the high school football star however turned down the scholarships he was offered to remain at home and the dead-end place his town has now become. Enter three bums who Poe and Isaac meet in one of the many abandoned factories that dot the local landscape. Poe, being his ever irascible self starts a fight and one of the bums is killed and so, the conflict which will drive the rest of the plot which will provide insights about how the people of the area have lost hope and, with hope, direction. The American dream has turned to rust however the citizens of this once great nations refuse to give up on the glitter that once characterized the American psyche. The success of the very rich is rarely seen as good luck as the failure of the very poor seen as bad luck. Mr. Meyer has attempted to provide an alternative perspective that is both depressing and uplifting.

Set in a small dying former steel mill town in Pennsylvania, this is the story of two young men (20yrs old). Issac, who is called the smartest person in town except for maybe his sister and had been expected to go straight to college after high school. But his mother dies, his father is in a crippling accident at work and his sister leaves for an ivy league school 3 months after their mother's death, leaving him to stay with his father. The other is Poe, the legendary high school football player who could have gotten a football scholarship to any college but had always been a bad apple and had no interest in doing any more school, even if it was on a scholarship.

These two boys are strangely enough best friends, each other's only real friend to be exact and one day there lives and those around them are changed forever. Within the first chapter Issac decides he's hung around long enough, takes his father's four thousand dollars of savings and leaves to head to California to go to school. Along the way he meets Poe who doesn't want to come with him, but agrees to walk to the city limits with him. They spend the night in the abandoned steel mill and three homeless men arrive. Issac knows this is not going to be good and he tries to get Poe's attention and says he's going out for a leak. Poe knows what Issac is up to but he's in the mood for a fight. Issac hears a scream, some thuds and more noises that sound like Poe. He enters through the back door to find his friend, Poe, being held at knife point while another man is obviously about to go at him. Isaac picks up a large iron ball bearing and pitches it across the room hitting the man square in the face and obviously killing him. This is how the story opens.

The book is told in a third person omnipotent point of view with each chapter coming from a selection of different character's view point: the two boys, Isaac's sister, Poe's mom, the chief of police and occasionally Isaac's father. The narrative takes a little getting used to as it feels strange to jump from one person's head to another's but it doesn't take long to get used too as this is a page-turner from chapter one onwards. The writing is a delight to read, the characters become very real to the reader and the story of the lives and thoughts of these people in a dead-end situation all around is very compelling. These people do not lead happy lives and the book is somewhat raw in it's telling but that only makes the characters more real. It is not ultimately a sad story though, as the characters learn about hope, love, friendship and redemption. I honestly didn't know whether this was going to be a book I'd like but I have to say it's the best book I've read this month.

I know it's only January but I'll be holding the other books I read this year up to this one as I choose my favourites of the year. Recommended!

Books like this just aren't written much these days. "American Rust" is as the book jacket describes a throwback to the American tradition of John Steinbeck. The writing to me is reminiscent of a Theodore Dreiser novel. American realism set in the contemporary context.

The characters are very well developed and the dialogue is sharp and believable. The plot is simple, yet allows for the characters to exhibit a considerable degree of flexibility. Meyer explores the economic decline, but still rich culture of small-town factory life. In this way, "American Rust" is similar to the Great Depression novels of Steinbeck.

Ultimately though, I think the ending doesn't fit with the realist style of the rest of the novel. Such a simplistic and optimistic ending feels contrived and doesn't do justice to the job Meyer has done in painting his dark picture of a dying town. It's just not believable and betrays the novel's foundational message.

Despite the ending, I think "American Rust" is well worth the read. A terrific novel about life in America's manufacturing heartland.

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3.0 out of 5 stars And then...and then...and then...and then...
Make no mistake about it, 'American Rust' is an audacious debut.

It has power, it has insight, it's unique, distinct...

... Read more

Published on May 10 2009 by Schmadrian

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