The Tortilla Curtain

T.C. Boyle

Sep 1996 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

T.C. Boyle’s “irresistible” (Entertainment Weekly) classic bestseller, a tragicomic novel about assimilation, immigration, and the price of the American dream
 
“A masterpiece of contemporary social satire.” —The Wall Street Journal

WINNER OF THE PRIX MÉDICIS ÉTRANGER

Topanga Canyon is home to two couples on a collision course. Los Angeles liberals Delaney and Kyra Mossbacher lead an ordered sushi-and-recycling existence in a newly gated hilltop community: he a sensitive nature writer, she an obsessive realtor. Undocumented immigrants Cándido and América Rincón desperately cling to their vision of the American Dream as they fight off starvation in a makeshift camp deep in the ravine. And from the moment a freak accident brings Cándido and Delaney into intimate contact, these four and their opposing worlds gradually intersect in what becomes a dramatic comedy of error and prejudice.

Ratings and reviews

Very good book. Boyle's depiction of the dichotomous lives of poor immigrants and upper middle class citizens is well done. Although, it is a bit exaggerated at times.

I absolutely loved this book. It is one of the best books I've ever read. It is a depressing book though, I felt that it was not humorous at all. What people go through to get a shot at the American dream is horrific.

I really don’t know where to begin. This is a life-changing book – a story that will put you in the shoes of people we see everyday – but don’t really see. The book follows two parallel stories – one of a poor, illegal immigrant couple who have landed in Southern California in desperate search for a better life. The other is that of a comfortable, white couple thriving in the suburbs. What is most interesting as these stories unfold is the disparity between what each couple worries about and struggles with on a daily basis. For the immigrant couple the daily worry is in finding safe shelter, food, employment; security of any kind. The suburban couple worries about getting a bigger commission, saving the trees and where they should eat out for dinner – the pressures do not revolve around survival, but rather around maintaining – and expanding – their comfort and luxury. This is a tale of our times. The story is not told in a manner that condemns the suburbanites – but, instead, demonstrates that this is who they are, how they have been raised culturally – they are a product of our mad dash to the security of a white-picket fence in the suburbs – the result of isolation, cut off the real suffering of others, making these things seem less real, less human. One must ask – why do we worry more about stray animals and trees than the suffering of people in our own nations and around the world? Is it because we have cut ourselves off from their need – because it is too painful to witness and we feel too helpless in changing their circumstances? Or are we so safe in our hermetically sealed communities that we forget that others are not doing so well. Immigration is not a new challenge to our nation. We have never, truly done a good job of assimilating new arrivals – they have often been discriminated against and discouraged by any means from thriving. We all fear, we have always feared, that our nations cannot possibly hold another soul – or that this new group will work for less and take our jobs. The irony is, that our jobs are being sent over seas – much of the work done by immigrants is work we feel is beneath us – menial. But, honestly, that is neither here nor there. Our failure, on so many levels, is in not recognizing every one of these people as just that – people. They are fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers – doing everything they can to survive. Many of us, if we go back a couple generations, have a plumber, farmer, factory worker or mechanic in our family tree. Go back a couple more and new probably have some newly arrived immigrants – lost in a new world trying to make a better life. Do we know where we come from? Do we know what our ancestors experienced – the discrimination and struggle – that has resulted in our comfortable lives? They wanted a better life – the question is – do we know when we have arrived, or is it always a pursuit for more? Reading this book made me uncomfortable. It made me feel ashamed for the dissatisfaction I have felt for my car, my TV or my cell phone – I realized how much I have to be grateful for and that my comfort should be utilized to help others – not create ever more luxurious comforts. Peace & God Bless!

About the author

T. C. Boyle is a novelist and regular contributor to The New Yorker. His novels include World’s End and The Tortilla Curtain, and he has also published numerous collections of short stories. A Distinguished Professor of English Emeritus at the University of Southern California, he lives in Santa Barbara.