The Tortilla Curtain

by T.C. Boyle

book data

3,844 ratings, 3.68 average rating, 742 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		23%
4		38%
3		25%
2		8%
1		4%

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published

September 1st 1996 (first published 1995) by Penguin (Non-Classics)

binding

Paperback, 368 pages

isbn

014023828X (isbn13: 9780140238280)

description

The author of East Is East replays the tragi-comic meeting of representatives from two different cultures with nothing in common. This book calmly gr...more

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11/10/07

Nolan rated it:

bookshelves: mybooks

its really hard to believe that mr. boyle lives anywhere near the US/Mexico border. His portrait of the subject is trite, ham-fisted and overly simplified.

In the world of the tortilla curtain, being a liberal means that you recycle. In the world of the tortilla curtain, being hispanic means you are either unbelievably downtrodden and unlucky or you're carrying a knife and willing to use it.

early in the novel, the protagonist hits a hispanic man with his car. when h...more

Like this review? yes (11 people liked it)

2 comments

12/27/07

Rachel rated it:

Read in December, 2007

I thought it was chilling the way the author wrote about these "do-gooder" types (the real estate agent and wildlife journalist) and how they are so careful to exercise regularly (swimming, running, hiking, etc), live a healthy lifestyle (there is a line, something like "while not true vegetarians, they watch their intake of animal fats,"), and be "aware" of society's ills (like the way Kyra speaks out against animal abuse, how Delaney speaks out against feeding coy...more I thought it was chilling the way the author wrote about these "do-gooder" types (the real estate agent and wildlife journalist) and how they are so careful to exercise regularly (swimming, running, hiking, etc), live a healthy lifestyle (there is a line, something like "while not true vegetarians, they watch their intake of animal fats,"), and be "aware" of society's ills (like the way Kyra speaks out against animal abuse, how Delaney speaks out against feeding coyotes, and how they express shock that people could be so "unaware;" they specifically purchase a "free-range" turkey for Thanksgiving) ... but at the same time, the author underscores how wasteful they are, with their brand new cars, car-centric lifestyle, expensive house built in wildfire country, desires for an even larger house, complete disregard for the suffering of the "illegals" ... it's like the couple in the book give themselves a lot of "brownie points" for all these details, while missing the big picture.

That is something of particular concern, I think, for "socially conscious" and environmentally minded folks. For example: a person can get way up on their soapbox about bringing reusable bags to the grocery store, while trashing the environment by driving to the store in a gas-hog and after getting there, filling the bags with all kinds of inessential crap (most likely: made in China! literally, as we put the stuff in our shopping bag, we can be overheard, criticizing the Chinese for being big polluters, but the factories doing the polluting are the ones making all the stuff we buy! so who is really to blame?). It's an awful thing for privileged people to look down our noses at people who have less than us. Especially when a lot of the social inequity in the world is caused by the wasteful practices of the modernized countries. The book illustrates the COUNTER-ARGUMENT to the belief held by many privileged people, that wealth and privilege stem from being STRONGER PEOPLE somehow (smarter, harder working, more motivated, etc), than the people who are poor. (Because of this belief, many privileged people feel justified in trampling on the rights and needs of poor people.) For this reason, I think this book is excellent.

(Note: I count myself as a privileged person, for sure. As such, I know how easy it is to forget that I personally haven't earned that. If I had been born in a different situation, I'd have a totally different life. This book is very good at reminding us of this.)

Also, I really liked the ending. No matter how f'ed up the world is, no matter how much suffering and betrayal we have endured as individuals, it is still possible to find within us, a heart of goodness, to help others in need. That was pretty much what I got out of the final line of the book. I found it very uplifting!

Another thing I found interesting in reading the reviews: many people saw the white couple, Kyra & Delaney, as the villians, while seeing America & Candido as the underdog heroes. This was surprising to me. I actually thought that both couples were equally sympathetic or unsympathetic. I felt that both couples were stereotypes, made more believable by the human touches that the author added (America mustering the courage to go into town when Candido was hurt, Kyra's thoughtfulness in getting Delaney the step-ladder, Delaney putting aside the fight over "the wall" and kissing Kyra passionately in the grocery store, Candido killing household pets in his desparation to keep his family alive, Delaney destroying the photos showing who the real graffiti artist was) ... so, one of the redeeming qualities, I think, was the feeling that the author was not "taking sides" or villianizing one group or the other.(less)

Like this review? yes (9 people liked it)

2 comments

10/14/07

Livia McRee rated it:

bookshelves: grownup

Read in January, 1998

This is the book that finally put me off of fiction written for adults. Unless you live under a rock with cotton in your ears and a bag over your head, you know that life sucks and the human experience is filled with misery and despair. When I spend my precious time reading, I want to read something well-written and inspiring, regardless of the content.

For example: You can read something about the holocaust, and come away feeling amazed and grateful that there are some people in the ...more

Like this review? yes (6 people liked it)

6 comments

03/22/08

mark rated it:

Read in March, 2008

I took this out from the library over a year ago. I lost the book, paid for it, found it again, settled in to read it, but before I could do this Ryan returned it to the library thinking that it was way way overdue. Enough time has elapsed for me to overcome my feeling of foolishness, so I checked it out again. As it turns out, the timing was perfect. In the past week, the political landscape has turned racially quite ugly. And my passage through this book kept perfect time with the dispatches f...more

Like this review? yes (4 people liked it)

1 comment

03/09/08

Margaret Tufo rated it:

I read this for a class that dealt with immigration issues. It is a wonderful example of being born with privilege. Quick and easy read. Gave it 4/5 because the female characters are poorly developed (as is rest of TC Boyle's novels). I got frustrated with this novel because of the bad things that constantly happened to the protagonists and the in-your-face irony, but it had its good points as well. I think anyone should read this before they try to take a position on the US-Mexican immigration ...more

Like this review? yes (4 people liked it)

1 comment

04/17/07

Christopher Lele rated it:

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in March, 2007

Tortilla Curtain gives a human face to an issue that all too often is cast in its extremes. Talk show hosts rail against 'illegals' taking over our country and our jobs; the other side demonizes the government and equates their handling of Mexicans the way that Hitler handled the Jews. In the end, both sides make us want to plug our ears.

Illegal immigration, what should be done, how we should think about, is far more complex and nuanced than that. So it refreshing to see T.C. Boyle ...more

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03/02/08

Michelle rated it:

Read in February, 2008

I read a couple of other reviews about this book. Some people sound really cranky with the author, Mr. Boyle, or found the book to be very depressing. It has its unhappy moments, sure, but I wouldn't say it was so depressing that I couldn't finish it. Those unhappy with the author seemed to think the book was unrealistic. I'm not sure how realistic his story is, but I thought it was very interesting at least. I would recommend it to anyone who has ever said anything about Mexicans or illegals in...more

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10/29/07

Ben rated it:

Read in July, 2005

I believe this book should be required reading for anyone living in Southern California. TC Boyle's strength is that he writes dry material but does so with a fascinating flair of humor. He uses everyday, common language but peppers it with $10 words that'll having you run for the dictionary every 2 minutes if it weren't for the plain context he provides. And he tells average stories with nearly constant fascinating curveballs thrown in. He loves telling parallel stories, trading chapters be...more

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06/24/07

Lisa Vegan rated it:

bookshelves: bookclub, fiction, novels, reviewed

Read in November, 2007

recommends it for: those who are willing to question their outlook on life & their opinions about other people

Well, even though I am not ignorant about immigration issues, this book made me more aware, and it encouraged me to be thoughtful, so I liked it for that. I liked the writing style and enjoyed most of the story.

I wasn’t wild about some of the events that happened toward the end of the book: I thought they were heavy handed and unnecessary; it was the slice of life events that I found most interesting and I didn’t need any big “blockbuster” events.

Rife with symboli...more

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04/30/07

Michael rated it:

(review of isbn 0747574642)

Read in April, 2007

recommends it for: People who like a strong narrative on a contemporary subject

"The Tortilla Curtain" by T.C. Boyle is not without its flaws, but even a decade or more after publication, it has only grown in its relevance regarding the deep-seated problems of illegal immigration, particularly the Mexican-southwestern U.S. nexus.

Boyle tells the story of two couples, one rich, white and privileged, the other homeless, Mexican and struggling, and how their lives intersect. Delaney and Kyra live in a polished, gated community north of Los Angeles, where ...more "The Tortilla Curtain" by T.C. Boyle is not without its flaws, but even a decade or more after publication, it has only grown in its relevance regarding the deep-seated problems of illegal immigration, particularly the Mexican-southwestern U.S. nexus.

Boyle tells the story of two couples, one rich, white and privileged, the other homeless, Mexican and struggling, and how their lives intersect. Delaney and Kyra live in a polished, gated community north of Los Angeles, where she works as a real estate agent and he is a house-husband, ministering to his step-son and wife and writing a local environmental column.

Delaney appears to be a classic, Eastern liberal -- although circumstances end up tearing off his veneer to reveal the darker attitudes that lurk just below the surface.

Candido is Delaney's homeless, immigrant counterpart, a Mexican with a pregnant young wife, neither of whom can catch a break.

In alternating chapters, their stories are told. The plot hurtles forward on Boyle's expert prose and the depiction of one vivid incident after another.

While Boyle does skewer the privileged white folks without much mercy, there is enough dimension and complexity here for this reader to say that the author isn't merely bashing for the sake of bashing. The problem isn't easy, the anti-immigrant reactions aren't without justification, and no pat solutions are presented. What is presented is this horrendous confluence between haves and have-nots, and an environment in which the cultural, economic and language divide is deep and disturbing and far too open to tragic misunderstandings.

This is not a problem that is going away; if anything, it has become more acute since Boyle wrote his book. I think where he succeeds the most is in getting us inside the heads of two desperate Mexican immigrants who are, at heart, honorable people. He helps us understand why they were driven to leave their homeland, gives us empathy for their plight -- while at the same time, managing to genuinely irritate us about their bad judgments.

One is left, I think, with the sense that we -- as a nation of immigrants -- need to pay far closer attention to where we are going, and to develop public policies and resources toward genuine solutions. Terrible burdens are being paid every day for lack of this -- on both sides of the equation.

(less)

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

1 comment

12/04/07

AnitaDurt rated it:

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in October, 2007

recommends it for: gluttons for punishment

I actually threw this book across the room after I finished it because it made me so upset. Its a tragicomedy with not a lot of comedy about the parallel realities of a man and woman couple from Mexico struggling to survive as illegal immigrants and a man and woman couple who live in an affluent suburb of LA. Their lives are inter-connected and tragic and there's not a lot more to be said. There's not even a little ray of hope or talking about any kind of ways to work together to resist every...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

1 comment

05/13/09

Amanda Jasso rated it:

bookshelves: booksthatmakemewant2throwup

Read in January, 2003

This is the kind of book that brings me close to tears of frustration and rage. An arrogant author, white and male, taking on huge socio-political issues and reducing them to 300+ pages of exaggerated, trite, offensive dribble. Another case of the white male fiction writer appopriating the voice of an ethnic minority in his work. And, yes, Boyle writes this with an interjection of the cultural elite, of whiteness, which for some crazy reason seems to give him access to minority groups, their fee...more

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05/21/07

Kelsi rated it:

(review of isbn 0747574642)

Read in January, 2005

recommends it for: very few people. yuppies, i guess.

this is one of few books that i actually couldn't finish. the author comes across as thinking he's sooooo deep, but it's kind of just arduous to read. there was only so long i could care about these characters - and apparently, it wasn't quite as long as the book.

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02/01/08

Judy Buckley rated it:

Read in September, 2007

I found this to be a poorly written satire of pretty much everyone on both sides of the illegal immigration issue. As such it really didn't add much, if anything, to the great debate. Very predictable.

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09/03/08

Katrina rated it:

bookshelves: adult, fiction

Read in September, 2008

recommended to Katrina by: Library Book Discussion
recommends it for: Any adult who is interested in the topic of illegal immigration.

The best part of this book for me was the feeling that the author was not "taking sides" or villianizing one group or the other. I think that both couples (Kyra & Delaney, America & Candido) were equally sympathetic and unsympathetic. I feel that both couples are stereotypes, made more believable by the human touches that the author added.

I think it is chilling the way the author wrote about these "do-gooder" types (Kyra & Delaney) and how they are so careful to ...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

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08/31/07

Rlb rated it:

bookshelves: fiction

Read in March, 2006

At first, you might mistake this book for a sentimental examination of the illegal immigrant experience, critical of the human toll paid by those most affected by imbalanced social and economic policies. But this is T.C. Boyle, so simply attacking 'the system' is hardly going to trigger the level of discomfort he likes in his readers. Rather, he sets his sights on white liberalism, systematically testing the boundaries of tolerance in those who claim to be so.

Boyle does a great j...more

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05/22/08

Meghan rated it:

bookshelves: books-that-i-didn-t-quite-get-throu

Read in June, 2008

I can't quite seem to get invested in this book. It is a book club choice so I will finish it, but I find myself already thinking about the next book that I want to read.

I quit half way through. This book barely deserves one star. I could not get invested in the characters....they had promise, but I didn't feel as though the author delivered much. The book was almost like the movie Groundhog Day - same thing over and over. This may have been the point, but I was not willing to c...more

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12/12/07

Suzanne rated it:

Read in July, 2007

recommended to Suzanne by: Jane & John
recommends it for: People that don't mind feeling depressed everytime they open the book

It is a rare thing for me to start a book and not finish it, but this is what I have decided to do. Multiple people told me this was such an awesome book but I can't take how depressing it is. Maybe it is because I work with a lot of immigrants that it bothered me so much. I was on a total reading kick and stoked to get to this one but every time I had time to read I thought "oh, that is too depressing, I don't want to read that right now..." so I didn't. And then I didn't read for a...more

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11/16/07

Bobby rated it:

bookshelves: reviewed

Has a copy to sell/swap

I personally found nothing likable or redeeming about this book. It's full of depressing, tragic (to the point of being very unrealistic in my opinion) events that keep on occurring to a poor, immigrant Mexican family. Their plight is contrasted with the transformation of a self-described "liberal humanist" into a paranoid racist who is obsessed with catching them. Except that the change in him is so dramatic in a relatively short time frame that I found it hard to believe. I found the...more

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01/29/09

Jessica rated it:

Read in September, 2008

This book is hoenstly one of the worst I have ever read. While the author shows clear skill and talent at detailed imagery, he often takes things to an unwanted, graphic level. There is a scene where one of the main characters is described to 'shake his prick' after taking a leak. TMI, thank you very much. While the same action (or lack of it) was referenced in the novel "Empire Falls", the author of that novel had a clear point in it; to depict the character as unclean. In the Tortill...more

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