What was supposed to be a grand literary reception has turned into something of a debacle.
Jeanine Cummins’ book on the border crisis “American Dirt” had a lot of star power behind its release last week, including Oprah Winfrey’s – she chose it for her book club.
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But the criticism immediately began to come in hard and fast, with many arguing that the books’ portrayals of Mexicans are insensitive and flawed. Complicating the issue is Cummins’ own ethnicity: she identified as white in a 2016 New York Times op-ed (although she also recently claimed Puerto Rican ancestry) and is not of Mexican ancestry.
A petition signed by 124 writers, including such prominent names as Luis Alberto Urrea, Carmen Maria Machado, and Viet Thanh Nguyen, asks Winfrey to reconsider her book club selection. The protest has been so passionate that Flatiron Publishing canceled Cummins’ book tour citing safety concerns.
more information on ‘american dirt’:the controversial book endorsed by oprah continues to garner criticism
I was one of those who found the problematic book. He especially objected to Cummins’ author note justifying her decision to write the book. “I was concerned that, as a non-immigrant and non-Mexican, I didn’t have to write a book set almost entirely in Mexico, set entirely among immigrants,” Cummins writes. “I wished someone a little darker than me would write it.”
many people “a little darker” than cummins have written excellent books on the problems “dirt american” tries to address: undocumented immigration, the us-mexico border crisis, and violence in south america , among others.
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The book debuted at no. 2 on the US bestseller list. uu. today, so chances are you’ve already read it and formed your own opinion of it. might differ from mine. Wherever you fall into the “American dirt” division, consider adding these eight recently published books written by Latin American authors to your reading list.
1. “archive of lost children”, by valeria luiselli (knopf, fiction)
What it’s about: A mother, father, and two children embark on a road trip from New York to Arizona. the father is researching Apache culture and the mother is creating an audio documentary about children in the border crisis, a crisis in which they themselves are caught up when their children go missing. The book received an Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.
2. “Children of the Land,” by Marcelo Hernandez Castillo (Harper, nonfiction)
What’s it about: A Mexican-born poet turns to prose to recount his family’s struggle to become American citizens, the stress of hiding in plain sight, and the immigration system often dehumanizing. kirkus reviews calls it “an honest and unsettling memoir perfect for today’s political and social climate.”
3. “where do we come from”, by oscar casares (knopf, fiction)
What it’s about: After the sudden death of his mother, 12-year-old Orly is sent to spend the summer with his aunt in the border town of Brownsville, Texas. there he finds his aunt’s house converted into a way station for coyotes moving immigrants across the border. a prominent review from kirkus reviews says that the book “delivers a truly timeless emotional impact.”
4. “Fruit of the Drunken Tree”, by Ingrid Rojas Contreras (doubleday, fiction)
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What’s it about: Inspired by her own life, this Colombian writer sets her story in her native country at the height of drug lord Pablo Escobar’s reign of terror, where two girls, their mother and a mysterious teenage maid lives under constant threat of violence. “This shocking novel offers an atmospheric journey into the narrow choices even for a wealthy family as society crumbles around them,” says Publishers Weekly.
5. “a dream called home”, by reyna grande (atria, non-fiction)
What it’s about: Grande, a former undocumented Mexican immigrant, shares her quest to find her place in America as a first-generation Latina college student in this inspiring memoir. She is also the author of “The Distance Between Us,” a memoir about her childhood torn between two parents and two countries.
6. “everyone knows you’re going home”, by natalia sylvester (little a, fiction)
what it’s about: on her wedding day, isabel meets the ghost of her father-in-law, who reappears in search of redemption every day of the dead. Isabel gradually learns about the history of the family in a story that raises questions about borders and belonging. “A compelling record of migration within a family and the dangers and triumphs of our undocumented population,” says Kirkus Reviews.
7. “illegal citizen”, by josé olivarez (haymarket, poetry)
What it’s about: The son of Mexican immigrants, Olivarez celebrates his Mexican-American identity and examines how those two sides collide in a startling collection of poems. publishers weekly calls it a “devastating debut”.
8. “In the Country We Love: My Family Divided,” by Diane Guerrero (Henry Holt and Co., nonfiction)
What it’s about: The “orange is the new black” actress and warrior “jane the virgin” was 14 when her parents were deported. Guerrero, born in the United States, was left behind. here, she tells the story of her resilience in the face of adversity and her coming of age without the two people she needed most. kirkus reviews calls it “a moving and humanizing portrait of the collateral damage caused by America’s immigration policy.”
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