American Dirt

　　在墨西哥的海港城市阿卡普科，有一家子正大肆慶祝著一位女孩的成人禮，吵鬧而歡愉的烤肉宴會上，卻迎來不速之客。槍手毫不留情地對準了花園裡的所有人，老人小孩無一幸免，唯有Lydia與她8歲兒子Luca逃過一劫。Lydia此時腦中只有一個念頭：逃！越快越遠越好！

　　這場滅門血案發生之前，Lydia在阿卡普科經營一間小書店，有一個可愛的兒子Luca，跟完美的記者丈夫。儘管這裡被販毒集團控制著，但那都是店門外的事，店門內是她的一方小天地，存放著一些不一定賣得掉，但她非常喜愛的書籍，Lydia就在這裡，與世無爭。至少她本來是這麼想的⋯⋯

　　有一天，一位看似博學文雅的男士踏進書店，還買了幾本她喜愛的書。誰會料到這個英俊的新顧客Javier，居然是販毒集團的首腦？在Lydia丈夫的揭露報導曝光後，Javier成為追殺他們全家的幕後指使者。Lydia只能帶著兒子往北逃，靠著俗稱「死亡列車」的鐵路網試圖跨越美墨邊境，逃向販毒集團勢力範圍以外的美國。Lydia很快就看出，沿途遇到的人們都和她一樣有必須逃亡的理由，但是在邊界那頭等待他們的，到底是什麼樣的地方呢？

　　"Extraordinary."--Stephen King

　　"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."--Sandra Cisneros

　　También de este lado hay sueños. On this side too, there are dreams.

　　Lydia Quixano Pérez lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She runs a bookstore. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while there are cracks beginning to show in Acapulco because of the drug cartels, her life is, by and large, fairly comfortable.

　　Even though she knows they'll never sell, Lydia stocks some of her all-time favorite books in her store. And then one day a man enters the shop to browse and comes up to the register with a few books he would like to buy--two of them her favorites. Javier is erudite. He is charming. And, unbeknownst to Lydia, he is the jefe of the newest drug cartel that has gruesomely taken over the city. When Lydia's husband's tell-all profile of Javier is published, none of their lives will ever be the same.

　　Forced to flee, Lydia and eight-year-old Luca soon find themselves miles and worlds away from their comfortable middle-class existence. Instantly transformed into migrants, Lydia and Luca ride la bestia--trains that make their way north toward the United States, which is the only place Javier's reach doesn't extend. As they join the countless people trying to reach el norte, Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to？

　　American Dirt will leave readers utterly changed. It is a literary achievement filled with poignancy, drama, and humanity on every page. It is one of the most important books for our times.

　　Already being hailed as "a Grapes of Wrath for our times" and "a new American classic," Jeanine Cummins's American Dirt is a rare exploration into the inner hearts of people willing to sacrifice everything for a glimmer of hope.