American Dirt

It was a long one but worth the read.

Everyone enjoyed this one!

I intentionally avoided reading about the controversy surrounding this book going into it - I wanted to come in with no judgement/expectations. I enjoyed the story, although it felt too 'easy' to read (if that makes sense.)

After I finished, I read more about the author, her very poor response to her critics, listened to some interviews of members of the Latinx community, and I felt guilty for enjoying this piece of “fake-ass social justice literature” (~Myriam Gurba.) I recommend listening to the author's interview on NPR (warning: it's cringe-y) and then heading over to the NPR podcast Alt.Latino to listen to their episode "'American Dirt': A Conversation About A Controversy." I plan to pick up Tell Me How it Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions by Valeria Luiselli next to further educate myself.

I guess I am in the minority among my Goodreads friends as I was not drawn into this novel. I was hoping to feel transported to Mexico and to get a sense of what the journey to the US might be like. I didn’t get a strong sense of place and I wonder if the author has actually been there. My favorite character was Luca by far. Some of the other characters who were traveling with them seemed flat. I plan to read Devil’s Highway to compare and contrast.