Jeanine Cummins · 2020 · Novel
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Lydia runs a bookshop in Acapulco and lives a comfortable life with her journalist husband and their eight-year-old son, Luca. A charming customer who shares her love of books turns out to be the leader of a powerful drug cartel. After her husband publishes a profile exposing him, gunmen murder much of her extended family at a party, and only Lydia and Luca survive.
Knowing the cartel’s reach extends across Mexico, the pair head for the United States, riding on top of freight trains with other migrants, including two teenage sisters from Honduras. The novel is a tense story of flight, motherhood and solidarity among strangers. It also drew criticism for its portrayal of Mexico and migrants by a non-Mexican author, prompting a debate about who tells whose stories.
Key insights
- Migrants are individuals with full lives; the novel shows how quickly a settled, middle-class person can become a refugee.
- Charm and shared interests can coexist with violence. Lydia’s friendship with the cartel leader shows how hard it can be to recognise danger.
- Fear changes ordinary judgement. Lydia must decide whom to trust with little information, and each choice carries risk for her child.
- Strangers on the journey form fragile communities, sharing food, information and protection, which highlights solidarity among people with little power.
- The controversy around the book is worth studying: it raises questions about authenticity, representation and which voices publishers choose to amplify.
Read it if you want a fast-moving story about migration and are interested in the debate over who gets to tell such stories.