美国国家公共电台 NPR Latinx Critics Speak Out Against 'American Dirt'

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

A new novel by Jeanine Cummins has opened up a debate about white privilege, racism¹ in publishing and the unintended consequences of telling a story that is not your own. The book is called "American Dirt," and the much-hyped new novel was released this week. It's the story of a Mexican woman named Lydia and her 8-year-old son Luca. Here's part of an interview I did with Cummins.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

JEANINE CUMMINS: The idea of this book for me was to remember the humanity of migrants. And I feel like so often the conversation in this country, when it comes to migration² and immigration, turns around a very specific kind of stereotype³. And I wanted to make sure that Lydia was a character who could turn that stereotype on its ear, you know, that she would be counter to our typical sort of notions of what a migrant looks like.

MARTIN: Lydia feels like she has no other choice but to flee. And the book is the story of their harrowing journey to the U.S.-Mexico border. It has been hailed as a "Grapes Of Wrath⁴" for our times. In fact, that quote is on the cover of the book. And that's one of the many problems with "American Dirt," according to several critics. There have been tweet threads, essays all arguing that the book deploys⁵ harmful stereotypes⁶. There's even a hashtag - #mylatinonovel - where people write their own parodies⁷.

Elsewhere in the show, you'll hear my interview with Jeanine Cummins and her reaction to all the criticism. But there is so much more to say about these very difficult issues of race and identity in publishing and which voices are elevated in the broader culture. So we called up one of the most vocal⁸ critics of "American Dirt." Her name is Esmeralda Bermudez, and she's a writer with the LA Times

ESMERALDA BERMUDEZ: In 17 years of journalism⁹, of interviewing thousands of immigrants, I've never come across anyone like "American Dirt's" main character. She's this middle-class, bookstore-owning woman who left Mexico with a small fortune in her pocket - like she was going to go to France or something - with inheritance money, with an ATM to her mom's life savings¹⁰. And why did she leave? Because she was flirting¹¹ with a drug lord who's now trying to kill her.

This is a wonderful, you know, melodramatic telenovela, something I would love watching, like, on a - just for cheap entertainment, like a narco-thriller on Netflix. But this should not be called by anyone the great immigrant novel, the story of our time, "The Grapes Of Wrath." Why? How did we get to a point in our industry, in the book industry, in society that this is the low standard that we have?

MARTIN: Bermudez, like many others speaking out against the book, says despite the author's intentions, it doesn't reflect the truth of the migrant experience.

BERMUDEZ: My grandfather, my aunt, my uncle were killed in El Salvador at a time of death squads¹² - death squads sponsored by the U.S. I was separated from my mom. I didn't meet her until I was 5 because of all this violence. I wanted to see myself reflected in this book. It's painful that not only did I not see myself, but I found all these things that constantly make us feel small.

MARTIN: She understands Americans who are not migrants themselves or come from migrant families might walk away from this book with a completely different feeling.

BERMUDEZ: This book has left a lot of white readers with a very fuzzy feeling - like, oh, my God - about immigrants. And my skin is crawling. My skin is crawling.

MARTIN: Esmeralda Bermudez of the LA Times. Her piece on "American Dirt" appears in the paper today.

1 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

2 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

3 stereotype   

n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框

参考例句：

• He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
• There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。

4 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

5 deploys   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的第三人称单数 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• It then deploys "decoy" programs designed to attract the virus. 然后，它释放“诱饵”去吸引病毒。
• But when that doesn't work, he deploys his secret defense mechanism. 但没有效果，它要施展绝密自卫武器了。

6 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 parodies   

n.拙劣的模仿( parody的名词复数 )；恶搞；滑稽的模仿诗文；表面上模仿得笨拙但充满了机智用来嘲弄别人作品的作品v.滑稽地模仿，拙劣地模仿( parody的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Later, however, they delight in parodies of nursery rhymes. 可要不了多久，他们便乐于对它进行窜改。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
• Most parodies are little more than literary teases. 大多数讽刺的模仿诗文只能算上是文学上的揶揄。 来自辞典例句

8 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

9 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

10 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

11 flirting   

v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Don't take her too seriously; she's only flirting with you. 别把她太当真，她只不过是在和你调情罢了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• 'she's always flirting with that new fellow Tseng!" “她还同新来厂里那个姓曾的吊膀子！ 来自子夜部分

12 squads   

n.（军队中的）班( squad的名词复数 )；（暗杀）小组；体育运动的运动（代表）队；（对付某类犯罪活动的）警察队伍

参考例句：

• Anti-riot squads were called out to deal with the situation. 防暴队奉命出动以对付这一局势。 来自辞典例句
• Three squads constitute a platoon. 三个班组成一个排。 来自辞典例句