NPR re-interviews "American Dirt" author

NPR interviewed one of the most talked-about authors last week — and then had to toss it out.

The writer in question? Jeanine Cummins, whose American Dirt, in less than a month, has gone from most anticipated novel to perhaps the most criticized.

American Dirt tells the story of a Mexican mother-son duo fleeing drug cartel violence; while Cummins has said repeatedly that she researched these stories extensively, critics who themselves have either lost loved ones to drug violence or who have lived in Mexico have pointed to what they call inaccuracies.

So with all of this in the news, NPR returned to Cummins to discuss the complaints leveled against her novel.

You can preview her response (and read more specifics of the criticism) in NPR’s piece about its coverage or listen to the entire interview below.