Review of Rust & Stardust by T. Greenwood

Slight trigger warning. Sexual violence mentioned, but certainly not explicitly.

One sentence plot summary: Based on real events, this is the story of Florence “Sally” Horner, a thirteen year old girl whose kidnapping and assault served as part of the inspiration for Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita.


Wow.

There is a lot I want to say about Rust & Stardust, but I think I have to focus on Greenwood’s ability to create a character. With the slightly overused (in my opinion) shifting perspectives form, Greenwood alternates between the perspectives of Florence “Sally” Horner, her mother, Ella, her sister, Susan, Ruth, a neighbor who nurtures Sally during her hellish experience, and several other connected characters. I won’t lie; I didn’t love this at first. There’s something about taking on the voice of someone who really lived, who actually walked through these experiences, without a nod to the fact that you are trying the voice on. I guess it’s certainly not the first time, but something about it, especially with the voice of a thirteen year old girl who was kidnapped and raped over nearly two years, seemed gimmicky and disrespectful. Even a bit exploitative. I now believe that, in this case, my gut was totally wrong.

Greenwood paints Sally Horner as a vibrant, curious, flickering flame that begins to be extinguished by trauma. The character could not have been handled more sensitively, more authentically, more deeply. Greenwood has a real gift with character, in general. Perhaps even more so than Sally, Ella really propelled the story. Her battle with loss, with her bitterness, with her resentment, created complication and depth to what could have potentially been just another crime story. Ella is poised to be a sympathetic character from the start. She’s a mother who is facing a situation that could only be described as hell for any mother: her daughter has been kidnapped and isn’t found for nearly two years. How can you not empathize with her story? How can you not imagine the longing, the declining hope, the imaginings and fixations of a mother without her child? Should be a pretty simple character, right?

Not so much. Ella, instead, is multi-layered; she resents the world around her for taking Sally, but at times she resents Sally herself; she says horrible things that victim blame her daughter; she is cold and distant when her daughter returns. But even as we hate Ella’s behaviors, we always understand the force working behind the behavior in a way that keeps her sympathetic.

As I read, of course the plot kept me fascinated. It’s a compelling story. I longed for Sally to be taken home, to escape, and felt true grief each time her hopes were dashed. I rooted for her. It was a good plot and it was written with beautiful language. It won’t be plot or language that keeps your pages turning, though: it will be the connection you build to these deeply human characters that keeps you moving forward.

5/5. Beautiful, haunting work.

Thank you to Net Galley and publishers for the ARC of this brilliant book.