American Rust - Tapa blanda

"In Philipp Meyer a new American master is born. A tender chronicle of a civilisation's corrosion, yet always watchful for something in the human soul that remains untarnished, 'American Rust' is a beautiful, bleak and ultimately redemptive masterpiece. The best book to come out of America since 'The Road'." - CHRIS CLEAVE author of THE OTHER HAND/LITTLE BEE

"The American dream dies and is reborn yet again. Set in a beautiful but bleak post-industrial landscape with characters who are compellingly engaging, AMERICAN RUST is a startlingly mature and impressive debut." - Kate Atkinson

'A fine achievement... moving between the panoramic and the personal with engaging confidence' - Sunday Times

'American Rust is so timely that it makes painful as well as enjoyable reading. The novel is a paean to the end of empire . . . Mr Meyer's voice is assured, and the story crackles with narrative tension. He develops his characters with impressive psychological and sociological insight' - The Economist, April 25, 2009

'An elegiac portrait of a disintegrating society' - FT, April 25, 2009

'Do people still think in terms of the Great American Novel - a work of fiction that exactly captures the contemporary spirit of the union? If so, American Rust has GAN stamped all over it. In racing terms it's by Of Mice and Men, out of Huckleberry Finn, ridden by Cormac McCarthy, and trained by Salinger and Kerouac' - Sunday Telegraph

'Meyer wryly acknowledges the literary tradition in which tales like this are often told... and in doing so, avoids its pitfalls. Instead, he gives us a powerful insight in to the lives of America's dispossessed, without patronising the people he writes about: they are victims of their circumstances, but not lameless caricatures. He has fine-tuned the nuances of their voices, from the intensity of Isaac's rapid-fire thoughts, to the circular, defeated thought pattern of Poe's mother, Grace, and the plot is captivating without ever straying into the realm of folksy page-turner.' - Observer

"The American dream dies and is reborn yet again. Set in a beautiful but bleak post-industrial landscape with characters who are compellingly engaging, AMERICAN RUST is a startlingly mature and impressive debut."

'American Rust is so timely that it makes painful as well as enjoyable reading. The novel is a paean to the end of empire . . . Mr Meyer's voice is assured, and the story crackles with narrative tension. He develops his characters with impressive psychological and sociological insight'>

'A novel as splendidly crafted and original as any written in recent decades, American Rust is both darkly disturbing and darkly compelling. Philipp Meyer's first novel signals the arrival of a new voice in American letters' - Patricia Cornwell

'Philipp Meyer's American Rust is written with considerable dramatic intensity and pace. It manages an emotional accuracy, a deep and detailed conviction, in its depiction of character. It also captures a sense of a menacing society, a wider world in the throes of decay and self-destruction' - Colm Tóibín

'This tale of personal struggles and economic depression is captivating, and more than a little resonant with current economic vibrations' --Gay Times April issue

'Having been force-fed John Steinbeck... I'm always just a little wary of any novel that features a double-wide trailer and is set in the industrial wastelands of the country... This first novel surprises you with its sureness of tone, its narrative propulsion and the singular and perceptive way in which it steers clear of all the usual redneck cliches... More than anything, American Rust impresses because it reminds us that even the most archetypal of situations can be given an intriguing remake in the right hands. Meyer never wears his social conscience on his sleeve and he never tries to pander to the reader's metropolitan guilt. And, simultaneously, he does make you want to turn the page. This is a new writer who clearly knows what he is doing' Douglas Kennedy, The Times 11/4

'It's a tragedy of a post-industrial society in decline, old with the poise and energy of a writer firmly in the ascendant. I've had excited conversations about this...This year, Meyer's second novel The Son is set to establish him and win major prizes, I think. He's a force of nature, and quite different from most writers. I find him intriguing and terrifically intense, single-minded in his research and fiercely dedicated to writing. Meyer is someone who is going all the way, and now might be a good time to get in at the start of the journey' --Chris Cleave, Esquire October Issue

Set in a beautiful but dying Pennsylvania steel town, American Rust is a novel of the lost American dream and the desperation that arises from its loss. 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, abandoned homes, and the polluted river. Isaac is the smartest kid in town, left behind to care for his sick father after his mother commits suicide and his sister Lee moves away. Now Isaac wants out too. Not even his best friend, Billy Poe, can stand in his way: broad-shouldered Billy, always ready for a fight, still living in his mother's trailer. Then, on the very day of Isaac's leaving, something happens that changes the friends' fates and tests the loyalties of their friendship and those of their lovers, families, and the town itself. Evoking John Steinbeck's novels of restless lives during the Great Depression, American Rust is an extraordinarily moving novel about the bleak realities that battle our desire for transcendance, and the power of love and friendship to redeem us.