Sophia C. reviewed on 2/3/2014 + 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.

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