Rust & Stardust is a break-your-heart novel based on a true crime, the kidnapping of Florence (Sally) Horner by Frank LaSalle in Camden, NJ in 1948 which was the basis for Nabokov's Lolita. It is a dark, disturbing story told very well.
It is June of 1948. Sally wants to make friends with a group of girls who have a secret club. School is almost over, and if she can make friends, she’ll have someone to play with over the summer. The girls tell her that she can join if she passes the initiation – stealing something from the local Woolworth’s store. With the other girls waiting at the soda counter, Sally roams the store and eventually puts a composition book into her sweater. As she’s ready to leave the store, a man (Frank LaSalle) gets up from the counter, grabs her arm and takes her aside. He tells her he’s an FBI agent, and would hate to see a girl like her be placed in juvenile detention for stealing. He won’t tell the police about her crime, but will get the matter cleared up himself with her at the courtroom if she just does what he says. Sally looks around for the girls, but they have disappeared.
Within days, Frank tells Sally that he has been told that the case must be heard in the Atlantic City courtroom. Sally is to tell her mother that a friend has invited Sally to join her family on their week vacation to Atlantic City. Her mother, Ella, is worried because she doesn’t know the family Sally is referring to, yet doesn’t want to deprive her daughter of something that she herself cannot provide to her. She agrees to meet the father. Frank cons her as well, telling Ella that his wife and daughter are already in Atlantic City, but he has asked a female co-worker going to AC as well to act as a chaperone, because it would seem improper if the two of them travelled alone. Satisfied, Ella sees Sally and Frank off on the bus.
But one week turns into two, then three, then four… Frank has Sally write Ella postcards saying what a wonderful time she’s having etc., but in reality, Frank ties Sally up and locks the room anytime he has to leave. He tells her that the court date has been postponed, that if she tries to escape, he will tell the police about the theft and she will be sent away, shaming her family. Then the sexual assaults begin. With each new assault, Sally loses more and more of herself and soon realizes that he has no intention of letting her go. They move from place to place, for two years before LaSalle is caught and Sally is returned to her family.
During that time, her family and several police departments are searching for her, offering a reward for information. Several people they encounter think something is amiss, but don’t step up to get involved. There are also a couple of missed opportunities when people are prepared to help her and then, due to differing circumstances, have to leave the area before they can follow through on it.
Greenwood does an excellent job of telling this story from multiple viewpoints to provide the reader with a complete view of what’s going on from multiple angles. The characters are complex and very well drawn.
This novel is graphic and hard to read at times. There should be a trigger warning that this story is about the kidnapping and abuse of a minor. While I can't say I "enjoyed" reading Rust & Stardust, I consider it a worthy use of my time and intellectual energy to read.
Disclosure: I did receive a reviewer’s copy and I was not paid or compensated to write a review.
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