mother commits suicide and his sister escapes to Yale, Isaac English longs for a life beyond his hometown. But when he finally sets out to leave for good, accompanied by his temperamental best friend, former high school football star Billy Poe, they are caught up in a terrible act of violence that changes their lives forever. Evoking John Steinbeck's novels of restless lives during the Great Depression, American Rust takes us into the contemporary American heartland at a moment of profound unrest and uncertainty about the future. It is a dark but lucid vision, a moving novel about the bleak realities that battle our desire for transcendence and the power of love and friendship to redeem us. Newsweek's list of "Best. Books. Ever" A Washington Post Top Ten Book of 2009 A New York Times Notable Book of 2009 An Economist Best Book of 2009 A Kansas City Star Top 100 book of 2009 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Best Books of 2009 Idaho Statesman's Best Books of 2009