American Dirt

The New York Times' Most Anticipated Book of 2020 O, The Oprah Magazine Vogue Marie Claire Real Simple Elle Entertainment Weekly Woman's Day Literary Hub Parade Chicago Tribune The Washington Post Time Fast Company Forbes Esquire USA Today PopSugar Bustle The New York Times Book Review May 2020 ban books? How, if we are talking about a scandalous novel about migrants, which made the whole world argue. American Dirt has zealous fans and equally fanatical opponents. Fans, including Oprah Winfrey, say that Cummins made us "fit into the shoes" of migrants and with our whole being feel their pain, anguish and desperate desire for a free life. Opponents, mostly Mexican writers, argue that you can't write about the horrors of Mexican migrants as if you were an American tourist. Who is right? And what is the book about? Mexican Lydia Perez with her little son climbs onto the roof of a freight train. He takes them to the USA, where they are trying to escape from the oppression of drug lords. Lydia is not alone on this windswept rooftop. Hundreds of people are fleeing their own country, from poverty, oppression and terror. The question is, where are they running? And will they be welcome there? Pictures from a past life change in Lydia's head as quickly as a landscape sweeping by. Here is her well-established life in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She is the owner of a bookstore, she has a wonderful son Luca and a wonderful husband Sebastian. And when life in Acapulco begins to burst at the seams because of drug cartels, Lydia's life, in fact, hardly changes. You can live next to trouble until it touches you personally ... Lydia touched. Her husband, a journalist, fulfilled his professional duty and published an article about the leader of a cruel gang. What to do? In any civilized country, perhaps, there would be options, but they are in Mexico and the only way out is to run. Even if where you come running, you will be considered dirt under the feet of the Americans. American Dirt is a novel that changes its readers. This is a work full of bitterness, drama and love for people. One of the most important books of our time. "Modern Grapes of Wrath" is how Jenin Cummins' novel was dubbed. This is an amazing story about people willing to sacrifice everything for a glimmer of hope.