just finished american dirt, one of the best selling books of the year. the story is about a mexican mother/son trying to escape from a drug cartel and migrate to the US.
and holy shit, didn't realize how much controversy there is on this one.
initially the book got rave reviews (by NPR, NYT, selected in oprah's book club, bla bla bla). "the defining book of 2020!!!".
the first negative review that received a lot of attention was from myriam gurba (mexican writer)- her
review is very harsh, but i recommend reading it, if you have read american dirt. she points out unrealistic stereotypes in the book, and how the protaganist (the mexican mother) "perceives her own country through the eyes of a pearl-clutching American tourist". another theme in the book was that USA=good/safe
the author (white) stated that she wrote the book because she wanted readers to know that the people coming to our southern borders are not one faceless brown mass, but singular individuals. many are offended at this comment- "get off your high horse!! we don't need you as a savior!", or, "she's writing a story that isn't hers"
the booktour for american dirt was cancelled because of threats
i'm not in the camp that writers must have a personal connection to whatever they chose to write about, but the uproar is interesting. the publisher spent a lot of money marketing this book (ie- oprah's bookclub, having celebs just as stephen king pose with it, etc), while latinx writers continuously get little attention from major publishers. there is now a push for this particular publishing company to have a greater representation of latinx writers