Review: American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

Lydia was happy. She was surrounded by things she loved – her husband, Sebastian, their son, Luca, and her book store. Then, at a family barbecue, everyone she loved was taken from her – her entire family brutally massacred with the exception of Luca. And all because her husband wrote an expose on a drug cartel.

Now, Lydia needs to escape not only her hometown of Acapulco, but her country – as long as she’s alive, she’ll be hunted by the cartel. But how do you escape a country when the cartel has everyone on their payroll – from the police to the staff at the check-in counters at the airport? Lydia and Luca have no option but to flee as migrants, trusting their lives to a coyote and the vast desert that lies between them and freedom – between Mexico and the USA.

American Dirt is an incredibly moving and gripping story – not least because of Cummins' grace at describing the macabre realities of Mexican migrants, but at her ability to highlight the plight of millions of people who are otherwise ignored and invisible. Through the power of the pen, Cummins illuminates just a fraction of the deplorable state of immigration for migrants, and yet just this small piece is enough to leave you reeling.

Not only is American Dirt well-written, with flowing prose made all the more poetic with tasteful insertions of Spanish, but it is a poignant social commentary that speaks to the strength of character of people who have nothing to lose; who have had everything taken from them, and yet persevere. This book is a testament to the cruelties we inflict on each other, while at the same time, emphasizing the enormous strength that can be found if only we are allowed to hope.

Reading this book will make you uncomfortable, outraged, and shocked, yet grateful that so much is presented in such a beautiful package. In a world of complacency and fake news, this is exactly what we need.

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins is published by Tinder Press and is available in South Africa from Jonathan Ball Publishers.