“Extraordinary.” –Stephen King “This book is not simply the great American novel; it’s the great novel of las Americas. It’s the great world novel! This is the international story of our times. Masterful.” –Sandra Cisneros También de este lado hay sueños. On this side, too, there are dreams. Lydia Quixano Pérez lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She runs a bookstore. She has a son, Luca, … Quixano Pérez lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She runs a bookstore. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while there are cracks beginning to show in Acapulco because of the drug cartels, her life is, by and large, fairly comfortable.
Even though she knows they’ll never sell, Lydia stocks some of her all-time favorite books in her store. And then one day a man enters the shop to browse and comes up to the register with a few books he would like to buy–two of them her favorites. Javier is erudite. He is charming. And, unbeknownst to Lydia, he is the jefe of the newest drug cartel that has gruesomely taken over the city. When Lydia’s husband’s tell-all profile of Javier is published, none of their lives will ever be the same.
Forced to flee, Lydia and eight-year-old Luca soon find themselves miles and worlds away from their comfortable middle-class existence. Instantly transformed into migrants, Lydia and Luca ride la bestia–trains that make their way north toward the United States, which is the only place Javier’s reach doesn’t extend. As they join the countless people trying to reach el norte, Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to?
American Dirt will leave readers utterly changed. It is a literary achievement filled with poignancy, drama, and humanity on every page. It is one of the most important books for our times.
Already being hailed as “a Grapes of Wrath for our times” and “a new American classic,” Jeanine Cummins’s American Dirt is a rare exploration into the inner hearts of people willing to sacrifice everything for a glimmer of hope.
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A young Mexican mother desperate to get her son safely to USA travels 100,s of Miles escaping from the drug cartel . Based on true events .
The best book i’ve Read in years. Makes me want to read everything this author has written and cannot wait till she writes more
This book was very well written and the story was believable and action-packed. I became so with the characters that it brought me to tears at times.
I would highly recommend this book.
American Dirt (Oprah’s Book Club)
This is so current!
Pick up the paper and see pictures of men, women and little children walking to get away from the terror of their homeland. The characters are very real and even though my Spanish is worn out, I still remember naughty words and cracked up the few times they popped up Some of my Dad’s favorites.
It’s a story that makes immigration more personal. A mother tries to get her son to safety, away from the Mexican cartels.
Criticized for writing about a Latino culture, though not a Latino herself, this book at least can open the eyes of many regarding the risks and hardships suffered by those who forsake their own country in an effort to come to North America in search of a better life. This is definitely a page turner. A compelling story.
I thought this was a great book. Although quite harrowing, the story could be very loving and thought provoking
This book was a little intense for me given the state of the world (I’m writing this during the coronavirus scare), but I broke it up in bits and pieces and thoroughly enjoyed it. I understand people have boycotted it because the author isn’t Hispanic (the book is about a border crossing), but she obviously researched the heck out of it. (Just look at the thick “acknowledgements” section.) If you like action-packed books with a lot of psychological turmoil, then this book is for you.
Loved this book. Got me to thinking about this situation.
The plot is simple, but so relevant in our times…a woman and her young son witness their entire family being murdered by a cartel in Mexico, and are forced to become migrants or be murdered as well. We follow their journey as they discover what that pilgrimage entails. Written in beautiful prose, the author delivers the experience in memorable images that transport you there. A true page-turner.
A wonderful novel describing a good woman’s flight from the evil that men do Together with her beautiful son she becomes a migrant travelling on top of trains, walking through a torturous desert and undergoing impossible demands. This is a heartrending story of struggle and the power of the human spirit to endure. I thoroughly recommend that you read it.
American Dirt is one of the best novels I’ve read in years. The characters are genuine and heartwarming (sometimes chilling), and the story is explosive. It takes on the subject of immigration control that has been front and center in our news headlines in recent years but has always existed. I found this book gets to the heart of the matter quickly by portraying a middle-class woman living in Mexico suddenly forced to make life and death decisions after her whole family is targeted and wiped out by the local cartel. Lydia is now tasked with saving her eight-year-old son, Luca, and herself from the same fate and reluctantly joins the constant flow of immigrants traveling north. The people she meets along the way wreak of authenticity and will make you grit your teeth, laugh, and cry. You learn by traveling with Lydia, Luca, Soledad, and Rebeca that there are angels and demons on both sides of our borders. Jeanine Cummins’ writing style has a consistent, gentle flow to it, and isn’t crammed with random informative details, descriptive narrative, or excessive background information that detracts from its very potent story of the immigrants headed for el norte. I highly recommend this book and will look for more from this author.
This book is going to go into my memory bank as one of the best books I have ever read. Now that I have finished it, I still cannot quit thinking about it. Lydia lives in Acapulco with her husband Sebastian and their 8-year-old son, Luca. Sebastian is a journalist who write an article on the local cartel and their crimes. The cartel shows up at one of their family gatherings and kills Sebastian along with all of Lydia’s family except for her and Luca, who were in the bathroom at the time of the attack. Lydia knows that the only way she will ever save her son is flee north across Mexico into the United States knowing that the cartel is right behind her. The author did a fantastic job researching this very well written book. This book kept me on the edge of my seat from the first page.
Without this book how would I have any idea what these folks go through in their country let alone what they go through trying to get to the us
It gave me a much needed perspective.
This book might not change your mind about the current immigration issues but it will probably give you a new perspective, a new understanding of why some are so desparate to leave their own countries and risk such danger and hardship to come to America.
I know people who believe that everyone who crosses the U.S. border illegally do so just because they don’t want to take the time to go through the proper channels. They are angry because they don’t understand what drives so many people to make the long, life-threatening, arduous journey. This book opens the reader to an understanding of the desperation, debilitating fear, and certain danger that force so many to a choice they would not otherwise make. I wish everyone who is ignorant about the real reasons people cross the border illegally would read this book.
The characters in this book look to the U.S. as a safe haven, a sanctuary, a sort of promised land. Americans have long been proud of our reputation as a place that welcomes people looking for a better life and especially as a refuge for innocent people who are running for their lives from horrible, deadly situations, usually not of their own making. I felt that the characters honored the U.S. in their hope that getting there would put an end to the very real nightmare of their lives in their homelands. I found this book to be a true eye-opener.
I was impressed by the extensive research the author undertook before writing American Dirt, including interviewing migrants and learning their gut-wrenching stories. I hope there will be more books about this issue, especially written by those who have lived the experience themselves.
This may be one of the best books I’ve read in a while. It’s a must read!
It is a fiction novel that is a great read and a glimpse into border crossing trials and triumphs.
This powerful and gritty novel about a Mexican woman and her son fleeing Mexico for their lives kept me riveted. I’m still thinking about it.
This is one of the best books I have ever read. It draws you in on the first sentence and you won’t be able to get out of it’s trance. I had to try and limit myself on how much I was reading at a time because I didn’t want it to end!