“American Rust” by Philipp Meyer – The Remnants of Economic Decay

Though America may have always portrayed itself to the world as being this free and economically-prosperous land, the truth is that the fate which befell many small towns was conveniently left out of that portrayal. There were many small towns established for the sole purpose of exploiting natural resources, such as steel, and when those ran out, the towns started to die. 

The events unfolding in American Rust by Philipp Meyer take place in such a town, following the adventures of two friends bound to it by family who, nevertheless, decide to embark on a cross-country trip in hopes of finding a better life. 

However, a chance encounter that leaves a man dead sends the two young men spiraling down in a very different direction from what they expected. As you can probably guess, this isn’t the kind of story that is uplifting and will turn a bad day into a good one… however, I believe that we all need some brutal realism in our lives from time to time in order to remind us of what this world can really do to you, and this is what American Rust offers.

The author presents a very dark and morbid universe and manages to make it quite unsettling with the death seemingly being ever-present. Of course, with that being said, this isn’t just a story about how two friends kill a man and get sent to prison. 

There is a real adventure going on, and following Isaac and Billy’s grim journey through America is nothing short of thrilling and moving, with beauty and decay being in constant collision with one another.

From a technical perspective, I have to say that Philipp Meyer has a good sense of balance, meaning he knows where to shine rays of light in his somber and lucid universe. The characters are believable, relatable on some level, and probably have more depth to them than I realize at the moment.

All in all, it’s a very touching story about the harrowing realities which plague our lives and search for a higher meaning, and perhaps even more importantly, how love and friendship can end up leading to true redemption.

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Philipp Meyer Personal site Philipp Meyer is an American writer of fiction stories, including some rather celebrated ones such as American Rust and The Son. He has been rather proficient over the course of his career, earning him a total of six awards/nominations so far, including the 2010 Guggenheim Fellowship and a nomination as one of the finalists for the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

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