American Dirt

St Just Thursday Evening Reading Group 6th July 2023.

American Dirt. Jeanine Cummins.

We all agreed that this was a highly disturbing book, with details which are very hard to read, but it tells a story that needs to be told and of which we need to be aware.

The author had done a great deal of research, we thought. We had also become aware that there was an issue with this book concerning cultural appropriation (the author not being Latin American), but we did not feel qualified to comment much on this, only speculating that perhaps an American audience might view the Mexican aspects and references differently from a European or English one. We had not been able to establish whether the story is true, or based on actual happenings, but we strongly suspected that it is.

We talked about the train, La Bestia, and the dreadful idea of having to work out the best way to lower oneself and one’s child from a highway overpass onto the roof of a moving freight train, without getting killed or maimed. We discussed the awful plight of the migrants, who risked everything in order to get to the USA, and the horror of being uncompromisingly told that if you arrived there, you would inevitably have lost all the money you brought with you, and if you were a woman, you would have been raped, possibly more than once.

Other points mentioned were that the book makes it clear that a certain number of migrants were in fact encouraged to cross into the USA, in order to provide services in the form of low-paid work.

One reader pointed out that the author had structured the book so that Lydia only had one child to conduct through the journey – taking more would have considerably reduced their chances of success. Also she did have ‘lucky breaks’ – she was able to buy food and cross the desert and she did meet helpful people. A great deal of physical and mental resilience, obviously, is a prerequisite.

This was a very thought-provoking book, and we thought a high-quality film could be made of it.

Although it's not crime fiction, a monstrous crime permeates this novel from start to finish. Lydia and her young son flee Mexico with a vicious drug cartel in pursuit. This is the story of their attempt to escape north, to the USA, and it's absolutely gripping. As they journey they find friends, but there's always the shadow of not knowing how close the cartel is. It's beautifully written. We see Lydia honed down to a hard kernel of determination, a woman who will do anything to protect her son and survive; and we see the child changing from a sheltered little boy into a tough survivor. The tension is relentless right till the very end. This is definitely a must-read book.
Review by: Freyja

Our top read of 2021

Loved it. Brilliant storyline, at times scary, at times sad and at times funny. An insight into the lives of those running to find a better life.

Superlative reading - authentic feeling of being on the run from the Mexican drug cartels - beautifully written

🇮🇳BOOK REVIEW📚

Book- American dirt
Author- Jeanine Cummins
Published in- 2020
Genre- Fiction/Thriller/Suspense

📌The story launches with a birthday party which turns the event in nightmare by unexpected persons barging and firing inside house on killing each of member of house, except a child as he was coincidentally in washroom and mother who instantly got inside to close his mouth and help them hide behind dividing wall in washroom! The washroom did not have door,so nobody doubted of their presence behind the partition!! And this way we are instantly hooked to book!!!

📌This is heart wrenching story about a Mexican mother and her son who escape a cartel lord to reach the other side of the border, United States of America. Through their journey as migrants, they experience bone chilling situations, heartaches, kindness of strangers, love and hope. It surely is a page turner that will hook you from the very first word!

📌Also raises so many questions on immigration & the plight of the migrants that these people would leave their homes, their cultures, even their languages, and venture into tremendous peril, risking their lives all for the chance to get the peace of life in some faraway country who doesn't even want them factually!

📌The book is also shrouded with controversy on being Oprah’s chosen pick despite the author not being an immigrant voice having any experience!But don’t let that take away from this marvelous book.

📌I read the current issue🇺🇸- Trump planning to build wall to stop people from Mexico.I personally believe one should walk in any country for that matter LEGALLY! But can we stop or ignore or avoid people like Lydia who try crossing the border to save their lives in helpless conditions?

📌🤔📌What author implies with name? All illegal migrants is what the name indicates?
American Dirt!!!

This is one of the most powerful novels I have ever read - an exciting page-turner, a heart-breaking emotional rollercoaster, and a fascinating insight into the terrifying process of trying to illegally cross the US-Mexico border. One not to be missed.