• American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
  • American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
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American Dirt

The heartstopping read that will live with you for ever
  • Author
    • Jeanine Cummins
£9.99
£9.99
*NOW A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK AT BEDTIME*
'Breathtaking... I haven't been so entirely consumed by a book for years' Telegraph
'I'll never stop thinking about it' Ann Patchett


FEAR KEEPS THEM RUNNING. HOPE KEEPS THEM ALIVE.

Vivid, visceral, utterly compelling, AMERICAN DIRT is an unforgettable story of a mother and son's attempt to cross the US-Mexico border. Described as 'impossible to put down' (Saturday Review) and 'essential reading' (Tracy Chevalier), it is a story that will leave you utterly changed.

Yesterday, Lydia had a bookshop.
Yesterday, Lydia was married to a journalist.
Yesterday, she was with everyone she loved most in the world.

Today, her eight-year-old son Luca is all she has left.

For him, she will carry a machete strapped to her leg.
For him, she will leap onto the roof of a high speed train.
For him, she will find the strength to keep running.
  • Published: Feb 18 2021
  • 134 x 192mm
  • ISBN: 9781472261403

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Press Reviews

  • Stephen King

    One hell of a novel about a good woman on the run with her beautiful boy... I defy anyone to read the first seven pages of this book and not finish it

  • Don Winslow

    From its heart-stopping first sentence to its heart-shattering last, Cummins' story of immigrants is just what we need now

  • Sarah Blake

    Urgent and unforgettable, AMERICAN DIRT leaps the borders of the page and demands attention, especially now

  • Julia Alvarez

    Riveting, timely, a dazzling accomplishment. Jeanine Cummins makes us all live and breathe the refugee story. If a book can change hearts and transform policies, this is the one

  • John Grisham

    It's been a long time since I turned pages as fast as I did with American Dirt. Its journey is a testament to the power of fear and hope and belief that there are more good people than bad.
  • The Times
    Heartstopping... doesn't let up... you will urge them on, fists clenched

  • Kirsty Wark

    From the opening page your heart will be in your mouth You will never want to put this story down, Jeanine Cummins has written a novel of such moment, such danger and such compassion, it will change your view of the world

  • Laline Paull

    AMERICAN DIRT transported me through genuine fear and had me willing on every human being struggling to get to a better life. Written with masterly restraint, it is a roaring human triumph

  • Sandra Cisneros

    This book is not simply the great American novel; it's the great novel of las Americas. It's the great world novel! This is the international story of our times. Masterful

  • Ann Patchett

    Both a moral compass and a riveting read
  • Washington Post
    I devoured the novel in a dry-eyed adrenalin rush... profoundly moving
  • i-Paper
    Taut, tough, visceral, savage and exhilaratingly written
  • Vogue
    Stunning... remarkable... an account of love on the run that will never lose steam
  • Observer
    Devastating and timely... its hard to imagine there will be a more urgent or politically relevant novel this year
  • Irish Times
    This might be the first book many people read this year... it might also be the best