American Dirt
Jeanine Cummins's American Dirt, the #1 New York Times bestseller and Oprah Book Club pick that has sold over three million copies, is finally available in paperback.
Lydia lives in Acapulco. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while cracks are beginning to show in Acapulco because of the cartels, Lydia’s life is, by and large, fairly comfortable. But after her husband’s tell-all profile of the newest drug lord is published, none of their lives will ever be the same.
Forced to flee, Lydia and Luca find themselves joining the countless people trying to reach the United States. Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to?
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Community Reviews
A lot of controversy with this one which had me holding off reading it for so long, but it was chosen as the book club read for a local library group I am in and so relented and have to say am glad I did.
Taking the own voices and white-washing arguments and placing them aside (all while still fully acknowledging them and the fact that I myself am white) I found this book to be an entertaining, fast-paced, easy read (fundamentally well written) while also enlightening (as much as an outside view can be) to migrant and social issues.
The mother and son dynamic was highly relatable as a mother to two boys myself and thus I empathized greatly with Lydia's innate need to keep her son safe and protected.
I do not see issue with stories being told from "outside", they are written all the time, so long as there is compassion and sensitivity with an acknowledgment and understanding of this outside view by both author and reader.
While this story may be less than ideal to be the focal point of social and migrant issues, it does make an excellent springboard for conversation and desire to further one's understanding of these issues.
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