Bit controversial this one, but I loved it. This excellent page turner follows Lydia and her eight year old son Luca on a harrowing migration from Mexico to the USA after their entire family is slaughtered on the orders of the boss of a drug cartel.
The post publication controversy surrounding this novel seems to stem from the question of who has the right to tell migrant stories, and how to depict the countries they are leaving. The author Jeanine Cummins is neither Mexican nor a migrant. Cummins acknowledges this in the author’s notes at the back of the novel, “I wished someone slightly browner than me would write it.” But the advice she gets from a colleague is, I think, sound “We need as many voices as we can get, telling this story.”
The book has also been criticised for reinforcing cliches of Mexico as a lawless, corrupt place made dangerous by drug cartels. But again, this is unfair; Lydia frequently reflects on how beautiful a place her home town, Aculpulco, was before the violence started; she had not contemplated leaving until her family was targeted and she had few other options for survival. The journey she undertakes with her son is harrowing; they witness brutality, corruption, murder and sexual violence but also acts of extroadinary kindness by ordinary Mexican people. It would be interesting to hear whether or not their journey feels authentic to someone who has survived it; for the rest of us, who haven’t, it’s a compellingly story and an important reminder to remain compassionate.
Of course I have a few minor quibbles. The child character of Beto seems a little too well adjusted to be true. And Cummins states in her author’s notes that her husband was for many years an undocumented migrant; she fails to mention he is from Ireland. My assumption that he was from Latin America perhaps reflects my own cliqued notions of undocumented migrants in the USA. Is she a bit remiss here, or am I? And isn’t it good to ask these questions, to examine ourselves? Isn’t that exactly what a good book should make us do? Ignore the controversy; read it and reflect. 4 stars.
