Back to American Dirt (Oprah's Book Club) (Hardcover) by Jeanine Cummins

Customer reviews

4.32 out of 5stars
(19 reviews)

Most helpful positive review

5.00 out of 5 stars review
Verified Purchaser
11/21/2022
Wow! I finished this book last night…
Wow! I finished this book last night but I thought about the characters all day! Lydia's and Luca's story is just amazing. The words were so well written and it was almost poetic at times. Although this book is fiction, the author worked hard to make it seem real and the journey to el norte was so well written, I felt like I was with them. I love that in the challenges, good people are portrayed in various points. While this isn't an easy read by any means it has made me think and I was completely hooked. This is unfortunately the reality for some (possibly not even close to a harsher reality) but it is important for others to read. Highly Recommended!
clp412

Most helpful negative review

3.00 out of 5 stars review
Verified Purchaser
05/10/2021
Some parts of this book were really…
Some parts of this book were really well written. But most, for me, seemed to just drag on and on with a similar theme and not much development. I was hooked in the beginning, nearly gave up for most of the middle, and was somewhat interested again toward the end. I did get a new appreciation of the migrant journey, but had to remind myself this wasn't a memoir. Overall, I was disappointed and would not recommend.
sbenne3
14 reviews
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  • 5.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    11/21/2022
    Wow! I finished this book last night…
    Wow! I finished this book last night but I thought about the characters all day! Lydia's and Luca's story is just amazing. The words were so well written and it was almost poetic at times. Although this book is fiction, the author worked hard to make it seem real and the journey to el norte was so well written, I felt like I was with them. I love that in the challenges, good people are portrayed in various points. While this isn't an easy read by any means it has made me think and I was completely hooked. This is unfortunately the reality for some (possibly not even close to a harsher reality) but it is important for others to read. Highly Recommended!
    clp412
  • 5.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    07/08/2021
    Loved this book, despite the violence…
    Loved this book, despite the violence and despair. Lydia's husband and sixteen members of her family are murdered at her niece's birthday celebration. Her husband was a journalist for the newspaper in Acapualco and had just done a piece on the newest narco king-pin in town. Oddly, this narco king-pin was also a customer at Lydia's bookstore and had gotten friendly with her. As the thugs shot up the family celebration, Lydia and her son Luca were hiding in the bathroom and were undiscovered. Lydia knows that she must escape to the United States. The rest of the book details her and Luca's journey as migrants. If you don't understand how people would risk everything to enter the U.S. illegally, you should read this book.
    mojomomma
  • 5.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    05/15/2021
    American Dirt, a realistic fiction…
    American Dirt, a realistic fiction novel about migrants, kept me interested the entire time. Lydia owns a successful bookstore in Acapulco where her husband fairly reports the news, gaining respect as a good journalist. The novel begins with the cartel murdering her entire family at her niece's quinceanera. She and her son hide in the bathroom--only due to lucky timing--and wait out the slaughter. As the police and other people representing government agencies are often working for the cartels, Lydia knows that she and Luca must leave immediately or they will be dead as well. The cartel leader, Javier Crespo Fuentes, became a good friend of Lydia's. He enjoys reading the same books as Lydia and they have a friendship based on mutual interests. Although they are close, Lydia does not consider an affair. Javier probably would. They share their thoughts and grow very close. Lydia knows that time runs out quickly when being hunted. How to get out of Mexico? it's a long way to the United States. The best way becomes disguising oneself as a migrant. Technically, she and Luca can legally travel throughout Mexico, but she must hide, be unseen. They must ride La Bestia. Migrants, in death defying movements at times, get on the top of the trains going northwest and head to the Arizona border. They quickly meet Soledad and Angela, two girls from Central America, also fleeing violence to save their lives. These girls and Luca form a special bond, saving each other. As the group travels, the reader meets other migrants, learns about the groups who actively help migrants in their quest, experience the dangers of migration, and fear not achieving the goals of safety and freedom. I know there was controversy about the book because she isn't Latino and shouldn't be writing about a society of which she isn't a part. She does excellent research and presents the people fairly and with careful attention to the dangers. The novel represents fiction. Any writer has the right to research and write any book, including non-fiction. It's beautifully written and tells a meaningful story that only highlights the plight of people who face severe abuse. Any acknowledgement and attention should be lauded as an effort to help others. Attacking authors for good work should be redirected to the situation from which migrants flee. It's a book worth one's time. I never would have read it because it's not something I would generally pick up. My friend loaned it to me. As I give her books without her request, I figured I should read it:) I hated putting it down each night when it was time to turn out the lights and sleep. It's captivating, stressing one out with the dangers and the desire to make the world a better place.
    acargile
  • 4.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    05/15/2021
    I deliberately chose not to read…
    I deliberately chose not to read about the book before reading the book itself. I know there has been significant controversy over a non-Latin author telling this story. I thought the story was an excellent one. Great characters, lots of drama, edge of your seat moments of tension, are just a few of the positives. What is storytelling? Is there such a thing as valid or invalid storytelling? I personally think the issue is how well informed an author is. I have had many book group discussions about the value of fiction v. non-fiction. Each reader tends to have tolerance for some unquantifiable level of historical/psychological accuracy in a story, and that is the personal, subjective preference of each reader, not a right or wrong quantification. One of my book groups had a heated debate between two factions after reading "Where The Crawdads Sing". One group felt the story was so unrealistic that it was deplorable, while the other faction insisted that readers must be able to suspend reality to some extent with any story. So, I will just say that I thought it was a story well told.
    hemlokgang
  • 4.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    05/14/2021
    “It's still wet, and that seems…
    “It's still wet, and that seems impossible to Lydia, that her life could be shattered so completely in less time than it takes for a ring of condensation to evaporate into the atmosphere.” But it was. Now, she and her son are fleeing from the killers, and their jefe, who was once her friend. This book reminded me a bit of Don Winslow's book "The Border", especially the chapter “La Bestia”! Not in a plagiaristic kind of way, it just has a bunch of similarities. It's intense, haunting, and heart breaking. I think this is an important read for anyone interested in the migrant story. It really made me think! “ ‘They're thieves or rapists or murdererers, like the norteño president says. Bad hambres.' He mispronounces the word hombres in the style of the US president who, attempting to call migrants bad men, inadvertently referred to them as bad hunger instead. It's a joke now, full of irony.” A joke, just like the moron who said it! “She spits through the fence. Only to leave a piece of herself there on American dirt.”
    Stahl-Ricco
  • 5.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    05/12/2021
    Lydia lives in the Mexican city of…
    Lydia lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She runs a bookstore. She has a son, Lucas, whom she adores and a husband who is a journalist. She stocks some of her unique favorite books in her store. When Javier chooses a couple of her favorites, they develop a friendship involving books. Lydia doesn't know that Javier is the head of the latest drug cartel in her city. When her husband writes an expose about Javier, it changes their world forever. Lydia's entire family is murdered and she knows that she and Lucas must leave immediately to survive. They find themselves in a desperate trek to America where Javier can't reach them.
    creighley
  • 4.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    05/10/2021
    While this book was quite compelling,…
    While this book was quite compelling, it was a difficult read. The hopelessness that seemed to surround most of the situations was hard to get past at times. While I do know the book has involved some controversy, a little reading online and some personal experiences of teaching students who were here illegally tells me that this novel is largely true. The situation that Lydia and her son were in is unique to what I have known of people I have met, fortunately, but the drug cartels are real, as is the violence that goes with them. I think this is an important book in that it puts real faces to the people who are trying so hard to get into this country through any means possible. I am not sure what I think of the whole immigration issue, but knowing the stories and seeing the people, especially the children, does add a layer to it that goes beyond legalities.
    hobbitprincess
  • 3.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    05/10/2021
    Some parts of this book were really…
    Some parts of this book were really well written. But most, for me, seemed to just drag on and on with a similar theme and not much development. I was hooked in the beginning, nearly gave up for most of the middle, and was somewhat interested again toward the end. I did get a new appreciation of the migrant journey, but had to remind myself this wasn't a memoir. Overall, I was disappointed and would not recommend.
    sbenne3
  • 5.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    05/05/2021
    What an eye opening story! We follow…
    What an eye opening story! We follow Lydia and her son Luca as they flee from a Mexican cartel. We all know of refuges that leave their dangerous countries and try to enter the US illegally. There are so many stories and situations. When we follow Lydia, we also follow the people she meets and learn their story. Recommended.
    janismack
  • 3.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    05/04/2021
    Lydia and her son escape to the…
    Lydia and her son escape to the United States after her entire family is slaughtered by a drug cartel situated in Acapulco, Mexico. This is the story of her escape. This book started off with an promising premise. What is there not to like? A mass murder, two survivors, an urgent need to avoid also being murdered and an escape from Mexico. But, for some reasons, this book fell flat. Maybe it was because the characters seemed under-developed, maybe because the husband-journalist seemed so naïve that it became unbelievable. Was it the perfect life the family seemed to be living? What saved the book was its description of how migrants from Mexico and Latin America travel to the US (although it's hard to tell how accurate this was). This was something I knew very little about which kept me interested in the book.
    DidIReallyReadThat
  • 3.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    04/09/2020
    Too drawn out for me. Nearly the whole thing was the mother and son's escape to the US (to escape violence and stay alive so it is an important read to gain greater understanding - but I wish it was a broader story) . My fault for not researching more but I thought the story would incorporate more of a story over time, not just the escape.
    beach
  • 4.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    02/29/2020
    I'll start by saying I believe an author, of any age, race or sexual orientation, can write about anything as long as they do their research. Next, I liked American Dirt. I didn't love it, but it's good. It is not as powerful as I would have liked, it doesn't tell the immigrant story I'd like to read, and it certainly should not be compared to the writing of John Steinbeck, but I enjoyed it in the same way I enjoyed other fictional thrillers. So, if you liked The Girl on the Train, Behind Closed Doors, The Silent Patent, etc. I would guess you'd like American Dirt.
    Unknown
  • 4.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    02/19/2020
    This is a thriller and has it's entertainment value but it is not Literary Fiction and certainly is not the next great American Classic. The mishandling of the marketing and publishing of this novel is a shame. I feel bad for the author who genuinely strove to write a book on a topic that she cares greatly about.
    Lynsey2
  • 5.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    01/20/2020
    Amazing isn't a big enough word for American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins. It's the kind of book you can't book down, can't stop reading, but also the kind of book you have to put down every once in a while and take a break, because it is so intense, so overwhelming, so affecting. Lydia and her family have a good life in Acapulco. She's a bookseller, and one of her customers, Javier, becomes a friend she can discuss books with. But Acapulco is becoming more dangerous each day because of the cartels. And then Lydia and her journalist husband, Sebastián, discover that Javier is the jefe of Los Jardineros, one of the worst Mexican drug cartels. And when Sebastián writes an exposé on Javier, he and the rest Lydia's family except for she and her eight-year old son, Luca are brutally murdered. Lydia has two choices: stay and be murdered, too or try to escape Acapulco before Javier finds them or travel to el norte, the United States and make a new life for herself and Luca. And the journey begins. No matter your politics or past experiences, you cannot but find what Lydia, Luca and the other migrants they encounter on the way heartbreaking. I couldn't relate to any of the events, but I could feel the fear and hopelessness and anxiety and the staggering bravery and determination needed to try to escape this life for a better one. I was lucky enough to receive an advance audiobook copy of American Dirt from Macmillan Audio. It is read by Yareli Arizmendi, and she is the perfect narrator for this story. Her pace is slow and calm and measured and completely conveys the terror and poignancy and drama. Thanks to Macmillan Audio for giving me the opportunity to experience this wonderful story. All opinions in this review are my own.
    Unknown
  • 4.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    01/19/2020
    After an unspeakable act of violence, Lydia and her 8-year-old son Luca suddenly find themselves on the run from Mexico's drug cartel, their comfortable world turned upside-down. Leaving most of their personal possessions behind, they set out for el norte. Lydia must suppress her profound grief and remain on high alert for cartel operatives who may be looking for them. She also needs to develop an entirely new body of knowledge -- that of the Latin American migrant -- to identify the best routes and means of travel, the safe houses, and other essential tactics. Each day brings new challenges and sometimes setbacks. Lydia and Luca meet two Honduran sisters, Soledad and Rebeca, and benefit from their experience. Together they travel on La Bestia, the northbound train, riding with other migrants on the rail car roofs. “Boarding” the train is extremely dangerous and can be fatal, but there is no other alternative. Throughout their journey, Lydia is constantly watching for the cartel, never certain whether someone they just met is trustworthy. But their close-knit group of four are able to help and support one another in ways neither pair could have managed on their own. Although American Dirt is fiction, it reads like a realistic account of the hardship and danger facing migrants. For me, it was an education, making this human struggle less abstract. In that sense, it's an important book worthy of attention.
    lauralkeet
  • 5.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    12/28/2019
    “In 2017, a migrant died every twenty-one hours along the United States-Mexico border. That number does not include the many migrants that simply disappear each year.” “It's also true that in 2017, Mexico was the deadliest country in the world to be a journalist. The nationwide murder rate was the highest on record...” “As Rebecca reveals what scraps of story she does have to Luca, he starts to understand that this is the one thing all migrants have in common, this is the solidarity that exists among them, though they all come from different places and different circumstances..., each of them carries some story of suffering on top of that train and into el norte beyond. “ Lydia Quixano Perez and her eight year old son, are living a comfortable middle-class life in Acapulco. Her husband is a crusading journalist and Lydia owns a bookstore. On one fateful afternoon, during a family celebration, Lydia's world upends in a horrific event and she finds herself fleeing, with her son, from a vengeful and ruthless drug lord. This is in the opening pages, and will leave the reader shaken. The rest of the story follows the mother and son, as they make their way north to the U.S. with danger on their heels at every waking moment. The suspense and terror never flag, but they also bond with many other migrants, on the same precarious mission. I think this is a perfect novel. The writing is incredible, along with the pacing and character development. I believe it also succeeds, in putting a face on these desperate people. It is easy to sit here in the comfy north, and shake our heads at “walls” and “caravans” but the author reminds us here, that these are living, breathing human beings, trying to make a life for themselves, despite the harrowing odds.
    msf59
  • 5.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    12/01/2019
    Breathless. That's how I felt reading this heart wrenching novel. A simple friendship that turns to a curse from a drug cartel lord that sends a mother and her son on the run after being stripped of family, home and their own identity. We are all aware of the plights of migrants; this book details every horror they encounter on their way to el norte. I wept. Thank you to FlatIron Books for a copy for my review.
    juju2cat
  • 4.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    09/11/2019
    This novel deals with migrants trying to escape to the United States. The main character is Lydia, who with her son Luca leave Acapulco to fell from the cartel who slaughtered her family. They travel and hide across Mexico to try and find a new, safer life in the US. But there is more to their plight then just running away. She meets other migrants, thieves, gang members, crooked police and a few helpful souls. One feels for these people as they struggle and deal with so much that we in the US take for granted. This is a heartwarming and genuine story of love, struggle and hope.
    grumpydan
  • 5.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    08/31/2019
    Heart wrenching, difficult to put down. The difficulties migrants encounter are only surpassed by the evil that awaits them in their own countries. This story reveals their humanity and the hope that sustains them as they head north. Required reading for any and all politicians, ICE employees, and anyone wanting to know what causes so many to come to the USA.
    nenasfilla