On the run from Mexican cartels and other stereotypes in ‘American Dirt’
“American Dirt” is at times a compellingly written look at the lives of an immigrant mother and her son, although elements of the novel leave much to be desired. The book is a work of fiction, but it brings to mind the incredible strength and bravery of immigrants and the struggles faced by the Latinx community in the United States — although not necessarily for all of the reasons you might think.
The novel focuses on a middle-class family from Mexico, specifically the matriarch, Lydia Perez and her son Luca. The two live with Lydia’s husband, Sebastian, a journalist, in the city of Acapulco at the start of the novel. Things quickly take a turn for the worse when Sebastian writes an article exposing the kingpin of a large drug cartel in Acapulco. Sebastian is brutally murdered, and Lydia and Luca are forced to flee to the United States to escape the cartel.
The novel details the mother-son duo’s journey as migrants searching for safety in the United States like so many immigrants do. At first glance, it is a fairly well-written and sympathetic dramatization of the harsh realities of forced migration. Indeed, the relationship between Lydia and
Luca is one of the high points of the book that really drives home the realities of the tough decisions that parents make daily for the good of their children. We follow Lydia and Luca on their perilous journey, pursued by the drug lord, Javier, as they ride the roof of the dangerous migrant train (La Bestia) and travel through the desert. The imagery in the novel is gripping. The author, Jeanine Cummins, is an incredibly vivid writer that makes a reader unable to look away from the book.
However compelling the narrative, elements of the novel ring false. Despite the overall messaging designed to make the reader sympathize with the migrant experience, the book is largely apolitical, declining to truly examine the intricacies behind forced migrations and the complicated and fundamentally broken immigration system in America. It relies heavily on stereotypes about the migrant experience, dramatizing it in a way that feels exploitative. Not to mention, it is a book about the experience of Latin American migrants written by an individual that identifies as white and has no real relation to the material.
Ms. Cummins received a lot of praise prior to the release of the novel and “American Dirt” was even a pick for
Oprah’s Book Club. However, as some may know, Ms. Cummins also faced a lot of backlash from many who declared the book “opportunistic,” “stereotypical” and
“appropriative.” Ms. Cummins could have escaped the controversy surrounding her telling the stories of others had she done the real work and research to make this story fully au-thentic, but she didn’t do that.
Ms. Cummins frequently leans heavily on stereotypes: that Mexico is a country full of corruption and crime and that America is a safe haven. She makes Javier, the murderous drug lord, an intellectual poet who seems to perpetrate almost every stereotype about Latin American men — a handsome charmer and a fearsome drug lord at the same time, which doesn’t make much sense from a logical or narrative perspective.
The book also ignores the realities of the migrant train, La Bestia. It refers to it as the only way to migrate to the United States without encountering drug cartels, when in reality it is controlled by them. The inaccuracies don’t stop there. The Spanish dialogue in the novel reads as though it were simply run through Google Translate, rather than written by someone actually fluent in the language.
Through this novel, Ms. Cummins has started a conversation about migration, representation and the Latinx community — although probably not the conversation that she expected. It is important for us to examine the authenticity of our stories, even if they are fictional because these are the things that shape our society.
While “American Dirt” is well written, if you wish to actually learn more about the migrant experience I suggest that you look elsewhere. There are other books that not only have strong narratives, but also speak to the migrant experience in a more nuanced and authentic way without relying on unnecessary and outdated stereotypes.