The Rust Maidens

Searching for another book in the horror genre I came across The Rust Maidens which seemed like it would be a unique and strange tale. Though very unique, the book turned out to be nothing like I expected. I guess it does fall into the genre of modern gothic horror, but I found the story only mildly interesting. I would say unlike creepy horror this story is more like a modern dark fantasy fairy tale. After twenty eight years the main character, Phoebe Shaw, comes back to visit her mother at the place she grew up, on Denton Street in Cleveland, Ohio. She left soon after her graduation in 1980 and after the strange events that occurred there that summer. Her best friend and cousin Jacqueline, along with four other neighborhood girls, began to metamorphose; their flesh withering and falling away to reveal rusted metal instead of bones, gray water pouring out of the wounds and finger nails turning to shards of glass. What happens to these girls is symbolic of the Cleveland environment they are living in. The main employment for the fathers on Denton Street is the local steel mill. The summer of 1980 sees an impending strike about to take place; a strike that will lead to the closing of the mill and a foreshadowing of Cleveland becoming another rust belt city. The eighteen-year-old Phoebe is an angst filled wild hair that longs to escape with her best friend Jacqueline a desolate Cleveland future. Their plans are foiled when Jacqueline begins to change and Phoebe tries desperately to find a way to stop the metamorphosis, even though the adult inhabitants of the street seem to have little empathy for the girls, including the girls' parents. After the story of the Rust Maidens is published by the reporter sister of one of the girls, government agents arrive and gawking tourists flock to the street. It will take the now forty-six-year-old Phoebe to unwind the full story and fate of the Rust Maidens as all the houses on Denton Street are methodically being demolished to make way for new condos. And, when she meets an eighteen-year-old girl, Quinn, still living along the barren and decaying Denton Street she will be confronted with the fact that what occurred twenty eight years ago is happening again.

so tedious to finish... intriguing plot ruined by 8th grade writing

Unique and atmospheric, this novel perfectly captures the feel of a small dying Midwestern town. I felt it skewed more literary fantasy than horror, which isn't a complaint so much as an observation. The strong sense of place and precise writing make up for any shortcomings. Overall, 3.5 rusty old factories out of 5.

A haunting story of physical and emotional metamorphosis and the way it impacts the psychology of a tight-knit community. Well done!

This was a great surprise. I expected it to be more....horrific? Maybe gory? But it's a different kind of horror, a modern feminist horror. I have to say this, I could not ever predict what Phoebe was going to do. Everything that character did was a complete surprise and that added to the interest. I look forward to reading more by Kiste.