NEW YORK:

Salma Hayek is apologizing for promoting a controversial new novel, Jeanine Cummins’ “American Dirt”, without actually reading it.

“American Dirt”, published Tuesday, tells the story of a Mexican woman and her 8-year-old son fleeing to the US border after numerous family members are murdered in drug cartel-related violence. The heavily publicized book has been praised by Stephen King and Ann Patchett among others and was chosen by Oprah Winfrey for her book club. On Saturday, it ranked No. 4 on Amazon. com’s bestseller list.

But numerous Mexican-American writers have called “American Dirt” an ill-informed narrative about Mexico that reinforces stereotypes. Cummins, a non-Mexican, even acknowledged in an author’s note that she had reservations about