This one has been on my radar because the author’s family members were victims in one of the most horrific murders in local history, and the repercussions from that crime are ongoing in the community. The book she wrote about that, a memoir, is A Rip in Heaven. https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-451-21053-1
If you’ve read American Dirt, what do you think? I’ve got it on hold at my Library, but for some reason the Library is only showing one copy for this NYT best seller, so the wait may be long.
A work of fiction is different from a memoir, and this novel has rave reviews from some pretty notable authors, including Don Winslow who knows this territory pretty well. What’s up with all the commotion?
Partly the commotion has to do with the heavy promotion for the book, the film rights sold, being on the Oprah list, etc. with skepticism being expressed that this huge investment wouldn’t have been made for a Latina author.
But a lot of the blowback is directed at the publishing industry and how it chooses what books to support (this one with a 7 figure advance/lead title marketing budget) and how exactly that support is shown. The editor who acquired American Dirt also acquired The Help, way back when, and the publishing house has since had to apologize for promoting the author of American Dirt by saying that she has a personal connection to her book’s topic because her husband was once an undocumented immigrant (while failing to mention he is from Ireland).
Also, Flatiron Books hosted a booksellers dinner for the author as part of the prepublication marketing campaign (this is a big deal in book marketing) and the floral centerpieces at this dinner featured tiny replicas of a border wall wrapped in barbed wire and topped with flowers. Additionally the author shared photos on social media of her “book manicure” with her fingernails painted in colors coordinated with the book’s cover and decorated with tiny barb wire. All of this added to the sense of exploitation and ‘trauma porn.’
I have not read the book and will not read it. A few of the excerpts I read online were poorly written. The LA Times has a couple of good articles about the book. The controversy is really not about who can tell a story, but about a book full of stereotypes and badly written being promoted as the important immigrant story.
You can read Angie Cruz “Dominicana” if you want a realistic immigrant story.
I haven’t read anything about the hoopla but saw a piece on CBS. The thing written here that resonated is who gets that kind of rollout. Reminds me of the record industry and who gets radio play (not women), who gets top label support, etc. There’s a reason people were pissed that Garth Brooks won entertainer of the year AGAIN when almost everyone felt at least two others were objectively more deserving.
I haven’t read the book, but the way in which the publishing house was marketing the book, e.g., the manicure and centerpieces, is distasteful. The interesting issue to me is—do writers have to have lived an experience in order to write a novel about it? I think not—a good writer can create an experience that he/she has lived. It sounds like there are many folks who don’t think this writer did that.
One good thing is that it’s refreshing that people are reading and talking about books. Oprah gets folks who never would have read literary fiction to read and think. IMO that’s positive.
Table decorations and manicures. Hmmm. Don’t recall that discussion in any on Don Winslow’s Cartel series book launches. (and I read the GQ article.)
Since this is the same publisher that rolled out The Help, maybe there is an issue with the writing, but I’ll hold judgement on that. The Help had a social justice mission and the characters were 2-dimensional, so maybe this publisher picks topical authors without regard to writing quality. Not convinced of that yet, though, by far.
If people wanted to expand the opportunity for Latina writers, the smart play would be to ride the coattails of this book, not to destroy the book, author, and publisher. The tactics seem to be more about fighting for pieces of a fixed pie instead of expanding the pie.
Rowling expanded the market for wizarding books. Gabaldon expanded the market for Scottish historical fiction. Maybe Cummins can expand the market for migrant novels. People just have to be happy to let her have her day, instead of insisting on destoying her reputation. Everyone could win.
I read one review in the LA Times a week or more ago. The criticism boiled down to 1) why aren’t there more ‘real’ Latina writers being published and 2) the book describes the characters brown skin too much.
I’ve certainly read a lot about the controversy it’s caused! And I’ll probably read it just to see what I think, but I’m not going to do it any time soon. As they say, too many books, too little time…
A lot of the blowback is not that she is “appropriating” but that she is doing so badly. Getting the Spanish wrong, perpetuating stereotypes, using scenes taken from other writers’ works instead of actual experience, and yes–brown characters remarking on brown-ness way too much. So that’s what the major beef with the author is–that there are so many malopropisms in the book.
And then yes, that many Latinx writers have written well about border and migrant issues, and they don’t get the seven million dollar adance, the big rollout, the Oprah treatment, etc. So that’s the issue with the publishing world. And the comment about making Oprah’s “must see list” and getting the rollout? The fact is, it was the other way around. The advance dictated the roll-out, and Oprah’s list more likely signed on because of the publisher’s treatment–not in advance of it.
Well of course people can write about things they haven’t experienced. If not, there would never be a biography of Kennedy or Lincoln and Doris Kerns Goodwin wouldn’t have a career. It’s called research.
The author was to do a book signing/reading/promo this weekend at a very popular bookstore here but it has been cancelled. It was set for Sunday afternoon, just before the Superbowl, so I don’t know how much of a hit the bookstore is taking. It was a ticketed event so they have to refund the tickets, and the book was $27 bucks.