American Dirt

Author(s): Jeanine Cummins

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También de este lado hay sueños - On this side too, there are dreams. Already being hailed as "a Grapes of Wrath for our times" and "a new American classic", American Dirt is a rare exploration into the inner hearts of people willing to sacrifice everything for a glimmer of hope. If it's only a better life you seek, seek it elsewhere...This path is only for people who have no choice, no other option, only violence and misery behind you. And your journey will grow even more treacherous from here. Everything is working against you. Lydia Quixano Perez lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She runs a bookstore. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while there are cracks beginning to show in Acapulco because of the drug cartels, her life is, by and large, fairly comfortable. Even though she knows they'll never sell, Lydia stocks some of her all-time favorite books in her store. And then one day a man enters the shop to browse and comes up to the register with four books he would like to buy--two of them her favorites. Javier is erudite. He is charming. And, unbeknownst to Lydia, he is the jefe of the newest drug cartel that has gruesomely taken over the city. When Lydia's husband's tell-all profile of Javier is published, none of their lives will ever be the same. Forced to flee, Lydia and eight-year-old Luca soon find themselves miles and worlds away from their comfortable middle-class existence. Instantly transformed into migrants, Lydia and Luca ride la bestia--trains that make their way north toward the United States, which is the only place Javier's reach doesn't extend. As they join the countless people trying to reach el norte, Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to? American Dirt will leave readers utterly changed. It is a literary achievement filled with poignancy, drama, and humanity on every page. It is one of the most important books for our times.  

I feel certain this will remain a favourite read of 2020. I feel so involved in the emotionally grueling journey of the main characters - Lydia and her little son who must flee everything they know when a cartel shoots sixteen members of their family dead. Lydia, a bookshop owner in the beautiful city of Acapulco in Mexico, never anticipated that one day she would have to wear a machete and jump with her son onto a freight train known as 'La Bestia' - for all the migrants who end up maimed or dead along the journey and cross to 'El Norte'. Theirs is a story of the unthinkable feats a mother will go through to save her child, and it's this and all the quirks of little Lucas' personality that drew me so much into their story. I feel the author has done an amazing job of portraying the heart and humanity of this situation and she shows that despite the multiple unspeakable traumas so many migrants go through, hope, a fierce love and a strong will to protect family and friends can still endure in the darkest of moments. A harrowing yet beautifully written novel. Jemma

34.99 NZD

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Product Information

 


 

 

 

 

 

General Fields

  • : 9781472261410
  • : Tinder Press
  • : Tinder Press
  • : 0.3
  • : April 2020
  • : 3.9 Centimeters X 23.4 Centimeters X 15.4 Centimeters
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Jeanine Cummins
  • : Paperback
  • : 2002
  • : English
  • : 813.6
  • : near fine
  • : 352