American Dirt follows the story of a woman and her young son as they escape drug cartels in their hometown within Mexico. We learn about the massive difficulties of fleeing one’s homeland with minimal resources to find safety in America. Just standing on its own, American Dirt appears to be a quality novel. The story is captivating, the characters are well-developed, and it’s simply an interesting read. But there’s a lot more to this novel than just what’s written on the page.
The book has received rave reviews from top-tier authors like John Grisham and Stephen King, but it’s also received a large amount of criticism, mostly because the author, Jeanine Cummins, is a white woman living in America telling the story of Mexican immigrants; plus, she also received a seven-figure advance for this novel. This is problematic because Mexican writers, especially women, are incredibly underpaid and underrepresented in mainstream literature. In an article for Book Riot, Romeo Rosales asks, “Why was that seven-figure sum not offered to a Latinx author whose heritage and expertise aligned with Mexican culture?” It could have even helped the people who are the ones who actually experience these hardships.
Recently this book was selected for Oprah’s Book Club.
When asked to help promote the novel, Kate Horan, director of McAllen Public Library (which lies near the U.S.-Mexico border) declined, saying: “The numerous inaccuracies in her story are clear evidence of the white gaze, capitalising on hurtful stereotypes and cashing in on human suffering.” Horan went on to say that instead of endorsing Cummins’ novel, she will highlight “authentic Latinx authors” for her community to read.
I feel guilty for enjoying this book. Immigration from Mexico to the States is an issue that’s very far removed from me, and I found it interesting to learn about an experience that I’m not aware of. But Cummins has been accused of stereotyping and appropriating Mexican culture (the opening scene of the novel takes place during a quinceañera), which begs the question, did I really learn about an experience that is truly authentic?
The answer seems to be no.
Throughout the entire book Cummins injects random Spanish words, phrases, and sentences. I’m not fluent in Spanish, but even I could tell that these thrown-in phrases felt awkward and artificial. To confirm my suspicions, Mexican-American author David Bowles said the “examples of Spanish are wooden and odd, as if generated by Google Translate and then smoothed slightly by a line editor.” This is another example of how Cummins is not equipped to tell this story.
Instead of paying the cover price of $23.99 (CAD), I encourage you to support actual Latinx authors who are underrepresented and who are more equipped to tell these stories. I will do the same. To get started on reading a more diverse selection of authors, I’m going to be reading from Mexican authors suggested by Book Riot. The Texas Observer also released a selection of 17 books to read instead of ***American Dirt, which I will add to my TBR (to be read) list as well.
If you’re still not convinced to ditch American Dirt, maybe this thought from author Daniel Peña will push you to read something else: “[American Dirt is a] lab-created brown trauma built for the white gaze and white book clubs to give a textural experience to people who need to feel something to avoid doing anything and from the safety of their chair.”
Through the simple act of purchasing a book we are able to either give credit where it is not due, or support an author’s voice who needs to be heard. I encourage us all to empower those who deserve it through this action.
