The Dirt on American Dirt

A little publishing drama played out over the past few days. American Dirt, a novel by Jeanine Cummings, who received a 7 figure advance after 9 publishers bid on it, was published in January. But long before January the novel was receiving tons of buzz, topping many “most anticipated” lists, receiving Big Name blurbs, and becoming, I imagine, a book most indie bookstores stocked for their New Fiction displays. A lot of money was put into this book, from the enormous advance to what must have been a huge marketing and publicity spend by Flatiron, who published it (Flatiron is owned by Macmillan, which is owned by Holtzbrinck).

Parul Seghal, a fabulous reviewer for the New York Times, panned it in a review that published on Friday. I will admit to experiencing some schadenfreude when reading it, because far too often, in my experience, the Hyped Hyped books receive good or great reviews, but then, when I read them, I end up feeling….very lonely. Am I the only one who thinks this is ju…