American Dirt is a harrowing tale of the journey of a Mexican woman and her son fleeing from narcos in Aculpulco.   It has a straightforward driving narrative of the dangers they face in an attempt to migrate to America.   The story is a compelling one that was very successful.

It has many admirers, but some detractors too.   The author is not Mexican and some people object to the story as cultural appropriation.   Their premise is that some stories can only be told by someone from that culture who has actually experienced being a refugee.   In my opinion, these critics miss the central point.   American Dirt is fiction.   It is not a non-fiction memoir.   All fiction arises from a leap of imagination.   Good writers do their homework and develop their stories.   Even non-fiction memoirs have elements of interpretation, selective telling, exaggeration, omissions, and fictional additions.

“Fiction is the art of delicately sketching the internal lives of others, of richly and believably projecting readers into lives not their own.” (Lauren Groff)

The author effectively provides a fictional account of the difficulties Lydia and Luca face, with themes of love and determination for her audience.   For the critics, there are other stories written by Mexicans that may have greater verisimilitude (and therefore more credibility in their minds), but that has no bearing on the merits of American Dirt.

American Dirt is a fine novel, one I would recommend to everyone (except those with strongly-held  views on cultural appropriation).

My rating – 4.6 out of 5.0 stars4.6