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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Pray for the Rust Maidens
A truly gothic tale of rust and the inevitable decay. Beautiful and haunting. Lyrical prose that mesmerize me from the beginning.
A truly gothic tale of rust and the inevitable decay. Beautiful and haunting. Lyrical prose that mesmerize me from the beginning.
The plot initially sounded intriging, but I despise the characters and don't find much depth or complexity in the plot
Set in Cleveland in 1980, the teenage girls in a neighbourhood start to transform into what locals call the Rust Maidens. We follow teenager Phoebe as she witnesses this unfold, and is also told by Phoebe in the present day as she returns home to try and figure out exactly what happened.
This book started off very strong for me: I loved the setting, the premise, the characters, Kiste's writing. Sadly, as the story went on I began to lose interest and the story was no longer as engaging. By the end it felt like a very mixed experience.
There are some very important topics brought up quite early in the story about being female, turning from a girl into a woman, how we are viewed in society, how we have no control over our bodies yet we are blamed for them. I was looking forward to seeing how these strong themes developed in the story but unfortunately they didn't seem to go anywhere.
The 'horror' elements of the story are few and far between but they were excellently done and they were some of my favourite moments of the book, especially a scene involving tweezers.
There were a lot of interesting ideas here, however there were strands of the story that didn't seem to go anywhere or that didn't make sense, so overall I felt quite unsatisfied. I would still be interested to read more of her work because this did show promise.
This book started off very strong for me: I loved the setting, the premise, the characters, Kiste's writing. Sadly, as the story went on I began to lose interest and the story was no longer as engaging. By the end it felt like a very mixed experience.
There are some very important topics brought up quite early in the story about being female, turning from a girl into a woman, how we are viewed in society, how we have no control over our bodies yet we are blamed for them. I was looking forward to seeing how these strong themes developed in the story but unfortunately they didn't seem to go anywhere.
The 'horror' elements of the story are few and far between but they were excellently done and they were some of my favourite moments of the book, especially a scene involving tweezers.
There were a lot of interesting ideas here, however there were strands of the story that didn't seem to go anywhere or that didn't make sense, so overall I felt quite unsatisfied. I would still be interested to read more of her work because this did show promise.
This was a massive surprise! I can't say if I've ever read a horror novel before, and I had a great time. Strong feminist and unionist themes, with a really well constructed plot and clearly defined perspectives as you move back and forward between 1980 and late 00s. Definitely a bit melodramatic at points, but they're teenagers and it's horror, so it worked.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“I’m a woman with almost half a century of life experience, who still can’t do a convincing impression of a human being.”⠀
⠀
THE RUST MAIDENS ⠀
by Gwendolyn Kiste ⠀
⠀
I requested this from my library quickly for 2 reasons:⠀
⠀
All my booksta nerds were loving it and the cover is by my favorite artist: @daniel ⠀
⠀
Take a moment to admire it...
⠀
THE RUST MAIDENS ⠀
by Gwendolyn Kiste ⠀
⠀
I requested this from my library quickly for 2 reasons:⠀
⠀
All my booksta nerds were loving it and the cover is by my favorite artist: @daniel ⠀
⠀
Take a moment to admire it...
3.5. On the surface, this book seems to be about unexpected transformations and the horror that comes with the unknown. But underneath, it's also about stolen lives and a stagnant, broken community. What happens to the girls as they slowly turns into rust is terrible, but worse is how the people around them reacted. To them The Rust Maidens are a threat, and I liked how the book shows the way everything unraveled. I also liked the way female friendships are portrayed here.
What kept me from fully loving the book is that I felt the main character appears exactly the same when she was 18 and later when she was 46. I would have liked it more if the book had focused on the past as the story was good enough to stand on its own without having to move to the present. I'm also not fond of the heavy metaphors used at times, I think the writing could be a little more subtle. But all in all, a great read.
book blog | twitter | instagram
What kept me from fully loving the book is that I felt the main character appears exactly the same when she was 18 and later when she was 46. I would have liked it more if the book had focused on the past as the story was good enough to stand on its own without having to move to the present. I'm also not fond of the heavy metaphors used at times, I think the writing could be a little more subtle. But all in all, a great read.
book blog | twitter | instagram
It's atmospheric and very good at immersing the reader, but the alternating timeline can be confusing when perspective shifts; there's no indicator at the start of the chapters and it follows the same character. Recommended for gothic horror fans.
This is a stunning example of literary horror. Atmospheric, eerie and dark with beautiful prose.
This was my first experience with Gwendolyn Kiste's writing and I was blown away. She writes in an immersive way that has you feeling a story rather than just reading it.
The Rust Maidens is a coming of age story about a group of girls who begin growing strange metal pieces out of their bodies with no known reason as to why or how. The girls become isolated from the rest of the town and are segregated into a house together with little to no contact from the outside world. The girls are not given a choice in the matter, even when it is clear that the girls do not want this. The main protagonist, Phoebe, tries to help 'the rust maidens.'
A story of unbreakable friendship bonds, grief, isolation and small town gossip. This dark and unique read will leave you heartbroken yet yearning for more.
Reading this alone will make any future Gwendolyn works an instant buy for me. This book has left quite an impression and is one of my favourite reads of 2021 so far.
This was my first experience with Gwendolyn Kiste's writing and I was blown away. She writes in an immersive way that has you feeling a story rather than just reading it.
The Rust Maidens is a coming of age story about a group of girls who begin growing strange metal pieces out of their bodies with no known reason as to why or how. The girls become isolated from the rest of the town and are segregated into a house together with little to no contact from the outside world. The girls are not given a choice in the matter, even when it is clear that the girls do not want this. The main protagonist, Phoebe, tries to help 'the rust maidens.'
A story of unbreakable friendship bonds, grief, isolation and small town gossip. This dark and unique read will leave you heartbroken yet yearning for more.
Reading this alone will make any future Gwendolyn works an instant buy for me. This book has left quite an impression and is one of my favourite reads of 2021 so far.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced