American Dirt

Thanks for detailed description this author made, I found myself always being with Lydia, Luca, Soledad and Rebecca as they were going through onerousness, like scaling up a wall of running locomotive onto its roof, trekking a desert with barreled water shouldering on them, leaving a body of adorable kid on a stark field without flower. This saga told me unbeatable resilience those who walk with a love next to, not in front of and behind, have, which is probably common faith human beings believe in. Her English depicted unknown locations like "Acapulco", beach resort used to be flourished with tourism, on my canvas which had been white for Mexico until before I had read this story. I was also noted that my knowledge in coyote as trafficker had been inadequate to get who he really was. American dirt is a drama which sticks into readers with both humaneness an inhumaneness.

I found this novel gripping. I was hooked the whole time and couldn't let the book down. I would have given 5 stars if it wasn't for the somewhat disappointing ending. Anyway I highly recommend it.

Interesting book. I recommend

Well written story kept me gripped till the end

There’s no doubt in my mind that Jeanine Cummins is greatly disturbed over the controversy surrounding her new novel, “American Dirt.” The main point of contention is, I believe, that a white woman could write such an invasive opinion piece about Latino immigrants when she has no actual experience in their actual hardships. For the most part, from what I read, is that Latin American critics are the most vociferous. They seem to feel underrepresented in the literary publishing field. Having a white woman with no background in their plight gather so much positive attention seems to be galling and, as a result, they are speaking out against Cummins’ honest attempt at bringing the current situation to light. Cummins, of course, doesn’t agree with all this BS, and continues to cash her checks Her story goes that Lydia Quixano Perez owns a bookstore in in the Mexican City of Acapulco (even the author’s choice of a name for her lead character gets scoffs). Her life is mostly successful and profitable. A new customer, Javier, a highly educated young man, immediately charms Lydia, with his love for books, especially those that are also favorites of hers. His visits are more and more frequent, their talks about the books over coffee become more intimate, and it soon become apparent there is a romantic spark developing. Eventually Lydia discovers that Javier is the chief of a vicious local drug cartel that has taken over the entire city. Lydia’s husband, a prominent investigative journalist also learns of the cartel involvement and writes a tell-all news piece that greatly upsets the drug lord, who promptly initiates a kill order to be performed at an outdoor party on Lydia’s family and 21 of her closest relatives, including her mother and father, husband some siblings and grandparents, aunts and uncles. Lydia and 8-year-old son Luca are the only survivors and, knowing that Javier intends to kill them also, the paire are transformed into migrants heading for “el norte” and safety. Their hasty departure and desperate flight forces them to join thousands of others also running from something, that journey forming the main content of Cummins’ story. I believed it is an honest attempt at trying to acquaint the reader with today’s news accounts of the immigration rush to America’s borders. I thought it was well-written, well-researched and accurately depicted and that’s where I found myself at odds with more famous critics. That’s where you, as a reader, come into the picture. You will have to be the final word in this controversy. As it’s going now, the readers seem to be in favor of Cummins’ version of her story. That’s probably the correct view. Writers can write about anything they want. The final work is the most significant indicator as to how well they did or didn’t do. Personally, I feel that the author was very successful at producing what she intended. Her research filled in the blanks where her intimate knowledge faltered and for those of us who know no differently, it was an entertaining and riveting read. The lapses being criticized are too esoteric for most of us. So, my recommendation is to buy and read this book, enjoy it for the story it tells, and don’t try to read too much into the “unqualified writer” brouhaha. The story is riveting. Schuyler T Wallace Author of TIN LIZARD TALES