American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

So – what to write about this book and the author, both of which have landed in a controversy they could not have foreseen. Well – I actually dared to read it, and found it to be both really well-written and an amazing story. 

Let’s start with the book and the story that takes place in Acapulco, Mexico. Lydia is a bookseller, happily married to journalist Sebastian, and they have 8 year old Luca. One day Javier enters the bookshop. He is charming, knows a lot about books, has the same favorites as Lydia, etc. They flirt. They share stories (they both lost their fathers to cancer as children) They become friends. 

One evening Sebastian talks about a story he is writing about the Mexican cartels. It turns out that Javier is head of Los Jardineros, the cartel that has taken over Acapulco, and has a history of drug dealing and assassinations. The story is not dangerous in itself, but it leads to a couple of tragedies that force Lydia and Luca on the run towards el norte. 

Lydia’s feelings are well described, and we also hear the story from Luca’s point of view, as well as through the eyes of some of the others migrants that join Lydia and Luca on the run. It is a story about hate and hope, of dreams and of running towards the unknown, of being on the run when chased by something bigger than yourself. 

I was totally spellbound by the story. Lydia is a very likable character and her motives are easily understood. I found myself cheering for her. Luca is adorable, and breaks your heart. The rest of the characters come from places that have a history, and the things that happen on the journey to the United States are very believable.

Amazing book and it is perhaps the fact that the book is so realistic that has landed it in so much trouble. The book, the author and the publisher have been getting a lot of bad press. I don’t recall a book being criticized this much before. The critics even have their own hashtag on Instagram this time: #ownvoices

The biggest issue is that the author isn’t Mexican, but tells a Mexican story, that could be interpreted as reality. Cummins makes no attempt to hide that she is American and lives in New York. The critics want you to ditch the book, and instead read Mexican writers that have written about the same story. 

In the Author’s Note Cummins carefully describes how she did her research, how she was in doubt of being able to tell the story, and how she felt unqualified. But she was told that “we need as many voices as we can get, telling this story. So – she wrote it. Now, she has become the story, which is not fair for the book. 

Pick it up if you liked…Miracle Creek – it is fiction meets thriller. 

Happy reading!

Reviewed by Lotte B.

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