The Tortilla Curtain

By: T. C. Boyle

Narrated by: T. C. Boyle

Topanga Canyon is home to two couples on a collision course. Los Angeles liberals Delaney and Kyra Mossbacker lead an ordered, sushi-and-recycling existence in a newly gated hilltop community: He is a sensitive nature writer, she an obsessive realtor. Mexican illegals Candido and America Rincon desperately cling to their vision of the American Dream as they fight off starvation in a makeshift camp deep in the ravine.

From the moment a freak accident brings Candido and Delany into intimate contact, these four and their opposing worlds gradually intersect in what becomes a tragicomedy of error and misunderstanding.

Winner of the Prix Medicis Etranger and now a major motion picture.

©1995 T. Coraghessan Boyle (P)2006 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

• Winner of Audio Publishers Association 2007 Audie Award, Narration by the Author or Authors

"A compelling story of myopic misunderstanding and mutual tragedy." ( Chicago Tribune)

"This highly engaging story subtly plays on our consciences, forcing us to form, confirm, or dispute social, political, and moral viewpoints....Boyle manages to address these issues in a nonjudgmental fashion, depicting the vast inequity in [the characters'] parallel existences. This is a profound and tragic tale." ( Booklist)

“This novel examines America's guerrilla war between the haves and have-nots with a zing unequalled since The Bonfire of the Vanities.” ( The Observer)

The Tortilla Curtain

I loved this book! I think my main reasons for liking it have to do with how much there is to think about and analyze within it. It???s a dark satire like Farenheit 451, Clockwork Orange, or Lord of the Flies in which the author is presenting a negative picture of the way our society deals with illegal immigration. He does this by juxtaposing the stories of an upper-middle class, yuppy couple and then a homeless, suffering illegal immigrant couple. I saw a lot of comments by readers who felt the book was too stereotyped or over exaggerated. However, I think that was intentional and done for the very purpose of creating a satire to make us look at ourselves.

The story is really good, and I felt compelled to keep listening until I finished. I really wanted to hear how it would all end. I love it when I???m swept along in a story like that.

The comparisons and contrasts between the two couples as the story moves along are actually humorous in their stark differences. For example, when Candido, the immigrant, is walking up and down the canyon on his way to and from looking for work, he barely has shoes, is essentially starving, has no hat, no sunscreen, etc etc. Next we see the main, yuppy character, Delaney, hiking in the same canyon with expensive hiking boots, bottled water, sunscreen, gourmet trail mix, etc, etc. The comparison would be comical if it weren???t so sad. This type of comparison goes on throughout the book.

T.C. Boyle makes America take a look at how we deal with ???the other.??? The main ???others??? in the book are the Mexican illegals, There is a lot of imagery about walls and fences to keep them out, however, he seems to compare them to a force of nature, like wild animals, firestorms, or floods, that really can???t be kept out or controlled no matter how hard you try. And trying could just possibly ruin you in the process. Thus Delaney???s fences and walls, in the end, are useless, and we see Delaney himself descend into a kind of madness as he tries harder and harder to make sense of it all and keep the control that he so desperately wants.

Who Said Writers Shouldn't Narrate Their Own Work?

With rare exceptions, writers should stick to the keyboards and leave the microphones to the pros. But T.C. Boyle does a great job with this story of two Mexican illegal immigrants who find life on our side of the boarder to be a dangerous and hungry place. During a time when "Illegals" are blamed for everything from rising health care costs to unemployment, "The Tortilla Curtain" exposes the actual economic dependencies we Americans share with our Mexican neighbors.

As did "The Help's," sixties-era maids, the Illegals in this story live and work without the protections and rights afforded other American workers and so are often exploited by everyone from employers to "coyotes" to imported Mexican criminals.

Even open minded, educated and well-intended individuals can be influenced by the attitudes and prejudices prevalent in their culture and victim blaming is an all-too-common justification for those attitudes. The book explores the psychology of power as the well-to-do Californians in the story struggle between their sympathies, their territorialism, and their simple desire to have their lawn mowed cheaply.

As with all of T.C. Boyle's works, this is a compelling story with engaging protagonists who are at once frustrating and endearing. Boyle always seems to put a great deal of research into his subject matter and so "The Tortilla Curtain" accurately depicts both the economic and interpersonal complexities of the cultural mash-up called California.

A thoughtful read with great narration. Highly recommended.

A masterpiece of a wake up call.

T.C. Boyle masterfully creates two amazing stories that intertwine in such an amazing way. I could not stop reading this book, so when I finished it I immediately got the audio book and started it again. The author reading his own book carries such tremendous weight with each word and brings even more meaning to this insight into modern bigotry. This book has become even more relevant in recent years and remains just as impactful.

Not a bad book.

The author seemed to be trying a little Too hard to be Hemingway. Right up to the ending.

Well Narrated Tragedy

This is the story of two lives on opposite sides of the fence. On one side there is a cowardly white man, a so-called “limousine liberal,” who grapples and succumbs to his own racism (and that of his wife and neighbors) while living in the hills outside of Los Angeles. At the same time, mere feet from his walled suburbia, a hapless illegal immigrant and his young pregnant wife face non-stop life or death struggle. Their lives intersect here and there, though never in a positive way and often with disastrous side effects.
Well narrated, and written, by Boyle. A good book!

Makes you think

Yes, it was disturbing but sometimes being disturbed is what it takes to wake you up. I’m still thinking about all the symbolism.

Excellent

I really enjoyed listening to the author read his book. The story was very enlightening to me regarding the different issues each character had to face.

Fantastic

Any additional comments?

Great, deep themes. Wonderful characters. Emotional, despairing, frustrating. Like not being able to look away from a train wreck. Highly recommend!

Great

This book blew me away. I am impressed that the writer could pen both sides- the yuppie white folks living in their suburban fortresses, and the down-and-out mexicans living in the woods, with such authenticity. Narration was great.

24 years ago?...this could be tomorrow.

One of the best books I’ve ever read. The story moving so cleverly between the two families made me smile. You have to read this!!!