American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

 There are some novels that hook a reader from the start. Such was the case of  Cummins' American Dirt. On the opening pages the reader witnesses the massacre of nearly an entire family who was celebrating a quinceañera with a backyard barbecue in Acapulco. Everyone was murdered except for a mother, Lydia, and her son, Luca, who were hiding in a bathroom. Realizing that their lives were in danger, they must flee the city to avoid being discovered by the drug cartel that was responsible for the murders. Fleeing means leaving the country undetected. This sets the plot line for the novel. 

When Oprah announced this as her book club pick, there was a major controversy surrounding its selection. The book tour by Cummins was canceled, but I never had read any of the debate regarding the subject matter. Consequently, I read the book without that knowledge or bias one way or the other.  I cannot judge the book by anything other than its story, realizing that it is a work of fiction. 

The reason for the massacre is revealed to be linked to an article that Lydia's husband, a journalist, has written that details the workings of the cartel's leader, Javier. Ironically enough, Javier is a friend of Lydia and the two have enjoyed conversations about book at the bookshop Lydia owns. With money that she has stashed away and her late mother's debit card, Lydia feels that they can make their way to El Norte and so the journey begins. They seek out a former roommate of her husband's and manage to get to Mexico City where they should be able to take a flight to the United States. However, without any identification for Luca, that plan is thwarted and they are forced to become migrants.

The journey that ensues is fraught with danger, uncertainty, and the necessity of courage. The two learn to hop trains, The Bestia, and to accept help from willing strangers. They become friends and companions with two sisters, Rebeca and Soledad, who are escaping a horrible sexual assaults because of their pulchritude. Other whom they meet during their escape are Lorenzo (possibly one of Javier's operatives), Beto, a ten year old suffering from asthma who is orphaned, and El Chacal, the coyote who will help them across the border for a hefty fee.

The writing is simple, but elegant in American Dirt. It is narrated in the third person, although occasionally Cummins interjects Luca's thoughts in to the telling. He is so precocious and it is the reader's good fortune to see how his brain is working. There is no way a reader can leave this book without feeling the horrific pain that must be endured for those who seek to come to the United States for asylum or to escape a life filled with fear and violence. There are two sides to every controversy and it is more than likely true about that debate regarding this book. It is fiction, but there need to be elements of truth for it to be read and believed. It is a story that will remain with the reader long after the last page is turned as the memory of the struggle and love of a mother for a child resonate in one's mind.