American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

 "This is a cycle, she thinks. Every day a fresh horror, and when it's over, this feeling of surreal detachment. A disbelief, almost, in what they just endured. The mind is magical. Human beings are magical....Lydia thinks about how adaptable a migrant must be. They must change their minds every day, every hour. They must be stubborn about one thing only: survival."          -from the novel

This is the first book I have read by this author but it surely won't be the last! It was such a PAGE-TURNER I could hardly put it down! I can only hope the next Cummins novel is a little less intense.

I should have know this would be an excellent book when I saw it was an Oprah selection. I did not read her opinion until I had finished:  

    “American Dirt just gutted me, and I didn’t just read this book―I inhabited it….Everything about this book      was so extraordinary. It’s suspenseful, the language is beautiful, and the story really opened my heart. I      highly recommend it, and you will not want to put it down. It is just a magnificent novel.”

High praise, indeed!

Living in Acapulco, Lydia Quixano Perez and her young son, Luca, experience an extremely traumatic loss right at the beginning. Under threat of violence, she determines immediately that she must take Luca and get to "el norte" as quickly as possible. She knew it would not be an easy journey but had NO idea the perils they would face.

Along the way, figurative doors are alternately opened and slammed in their faces. They experience great hunger and thirst, physical abuse, injuries and even death. They meet evil people---like narcos (drug traffickers) and la migra (border patrol). There are also many characters who provide help and support, even at unexpected times. I found myself emotionally involved with several of these: Lydia, herself; the very precocious Luca, eight-years-old, going on 20; teenaged sisters Soledad and Rebeca; and the assertive, sometimes humorous youngster, Beto.

I thought often of We Are Not From Here, a novel by Jenny Torres Sanchez that I read a year ago. Both stories detail the incredible courage and determination that people in horrible circumstances, especially in Central America, must summon to try to get to the U.S. and a better life, oftentimes to actually save their lives! These two novels have given me much greater empathy for these migrantes.

I recommend this book highly! It is a riveting story of sacrifice, firm resolve, loyalty and survival. Although I can't say it was exactly enjoyable, I found it exceptional. My rating is 5+!

It is a few weeks until our group meeting. I hope others appreciate this novel as much as I did.

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Page Turners met in person today---first time in over a year due to COVID! The average rating for the book is 4.4 with almost everyone voting a 4 or 5. We enjoyed a stimulating discussion using questions provided by the publisher. Only a few attendees knew much of the controversy about the book. I heard about it after reading the book and delved into it so I was able to share some of what I learned. In my opinion, it boils down to a number of Latinx authors resenting the fact that their writing about their culture and experiences is not as valued as American Dirt by a nonMexican writer. (I watched a video of Oprah Winfrey discussing her selection of the book with Jeanine Cummins and 3 Latina authors who have problems with aspects of American Dirt. The publisher and editor answered questions, as well. I learned there was a bidding war for the book and Cummins received 7 figures---pretty rare!)

Most of us thought the book was excellent and that it increased our understanding of what many immigrants go through to get to the country we too often take for granted.

Miss Julia Happily Ever After by Ann B. Ross

 ""Oh, nothing much....Somebody got married. A few others are planning to. Another one is hoping to. Mildred is planning a party. A naked man came to visit. I got shot at, and Lillian speaks Japanese."

      -Julia's answer to Sam's query about what went on while he was away

          

I have read and enjoyed all the novels in the Miss Julia series and this is to be the finale. How bittersweet that is! I am such a big fan. I can only hope Ms. Ross has some more amusing ideas up her sleeve. This book arrived at a perfect time for me. The last three historical fictions I had read were emotionally intense and disturbing in parts: American Dirt, The Four Winds and The Last Correspondent. Miss Julia is always good for some giggles and some laugh-out-louds and this one did not disappoint. Plus the mystery of the streaker keeps the reader wanting to know: WHO IS IT?

The title and the quote above will offer clues about the plot(s). One of the most compelling is Miss Lillian, Julia's wise and loveable housekeeper, may receive a marriage proposal from a very prominent businessman in town and Julia is distracted by worrying about losing her as a valued employee. Of several possible weddings, only two actually take place. I will let you wonder which of Julia's friends marry and read for yourself.

Much of the humor is offered by the mystery of the naked man appearing to several ladies in the town. Eventually they take it upon themselves to catch the culprit.

I will rate this book a 5 for sheer enjoyment! I will surely miss reading new Miss Julia episodes.

The Last Correspondent by Soraya M. Lane

 "We have a job to do that no one can really understand, not unless they've walked in our shoes....The desire the show the truth, to see everything with our own eyes and try to write words that convey the action as well as the emotion. It consumes us."           -Michael Miller, from the novel

This is the third novel, in a row, I have read with women facing great danger! The first was American Dirt with a Mexican mother trying to get to the US to save her young son. Then I read The Four Winds in which another mother is trying to get her children to California, seen as the Promised Land by many escaping the Dust Bowl. The Last Correspondent is an historical fiction of WWII involving journalists in war-torn France.

The reader becomes acquainted with 3 women: Ella Franks, who loses her job with United Press when they discover she has been writing under a male pseudonym; Danni Bradford, a veteran photojournalist working with her partner Andy in Europe, both aspiring to get to Normandy; and Chloe, Andy's sister, a rather naïve former model in London who is desperate to find her Parisian lover from before the German occupation.

We learn each woman's story and then, one by one, they come together and eventually must rely on each other for survival. The plot kept my interest with the suspense, romance and even a bit of humor here and there. I admired the women, especially Danni and Ella, who were very passionate about their work as war correspondents and very brave and resilient. The romance(s) was somewhat predictable, I thought, but it was a welcome contrast to the horrors of war being witnessed by the characters.

I rate this novel a 4. I think I need to find some light reading now!

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

 "Elsa smiled, thinking again of her grandfather. It had taken decades, but she finally knew exactly what he'd meant by the things he'd told her. It wasn't the fear that mattered in life. It was the choices made when you were afraid. You were brave because of your fear, not in spite of it."

                    -from the novel

Having just finished American Dirt, an absolute page-turner, this one started off slowly. I have read a few novels by this author and I am a fan but this historical fiction didn't engage me as quickly as most. By the end of 400+ pages, I had become quite involved with the characters and really liked the book! I will rate it a 4.

In 1934 Elsa Wolcott Martinelli lives on a farm in the Texas panhandle during the Great Depression and the drought that became known as the Dust Bowl. Her family and others must either fight to survive the horrible conditions or make the difficult decision to go West---to the "promised land" of California.

Reluctantly, Elsa takes her two children, Loreda and Anthony, called Ant, and bravely sets out in hopes of making a better life. After a challenging journey, they find that Californians call them "Okies" and treat them with appalling disrespect. I couldn't help comparing Elsa's plight with that of Lydia in American Dirt. They are both mothers escaping dangerous surroundings and trying to do what is best for their children. Lydia and Elsa must both summon great courage and overcome huge, often dangerous challenges. While it is not surprising that Mexican immigrants are not welcomed by many in the U.S., it is rather shocking that other Americans are scorned the way the Martinellis are.

I was also reminded of The Grapes of Wrath, which our book club read recently---similar settings and themes of hope and determination. I thought, too, of Mildred Taylor's series beginning with Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. The Logan family (in ...Thunder...) valued their land above almost anything else and would hold onto it at any cost just as Rose and Tony Martinelli, in The Four Winds.

I could see this being a future pick for Page Turners. I might even read it again.