Madeline
American Dirt is probably one of the most powerful books I have read in the recent past. It was a startling and hopeful story of a mother and son’s escape from the Mexican cartel. As survivors of a cartel massacre, they need to get out of Mexico before they are found and added to the family pile of dead souls. If my book club thought that The Dutch House was going to be depressing, they did not read the premise of American Dirt.
Premise
The story does not start with back story. We don’t get to know the characters before we are hiding in a bathroom with Lydia and her son, hiding from the massacre occuring outside slaughtering the entire family during a quinceanera. We quickly learn about Lydia’s bookstore before the massacre and the relationship she started with a fellow book lover that lead to this tragic event. And this is the start to the startling and hopeful story of Lydia and her son’s attempt at getting away and fleeing the country to el norte.
By the end of the book, there is a cast of characters that you truly care about. All have their hardships. All have their secrets. And all are just trying to survive the best way they know how. These people must be escaping a hard life to put themselves through this tough journey of trying to escape it.
This Story And How It Was Written
When reading this story, there are a lot of Mexican references to culture, geography, and the language. It would never be guessed that it was written by a white women and for that, American Dirt got a lot of backlash. I gave this startling and hopeful story a chance due to naysayers typically getting more attention than people who love a book.
Directly after finishing this book, I spoke with a Latin American (not Mexican) friend who also fled her country in a rush. I was put at ease for absolutely adoring this book when she told me she loved it as well and took no offence that it was written by a white women. She cannot speak for all Latinas; however, this is enough for me to shout it from the roof that I loved this startling and hopeful story.
Final Thoughts
Have I mentioned in this post that I loved this book? The journey we go through with Lydia and her son kept me on my toes and wondering what was going to happen next. I cannot speak to how realistic this book was, but I can only imagine what many immigrants who need to flee their country go through.
