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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
I hated this book! Hated hated hated!
It was slow and really boring at ALL times.
One of the worst books I have ever picked up.
It was slow and really boring at ALL times.
One of the worst books I have ever picked up.
Story was pretty good. I liked how the story lines of the two families interesected. Delaney, the nature writer, at one point seemed to be comparing the illegals with coyotes - opportunists and scavengers. Greatly disappointed by the ending. What happened to these people? Did they get along? Did the Candido and America go back to Mexico?
I read it as a freshman in college. I enjoyed it at the time, but admittedly didn't have as critical a perspective.
4.5 stars rounded up. I recently read this book for a college course and am so glad it was assigned. What a great book! I read it twice and it was even better the second time around. It really makes you think from all sides of the immigration equation and how things can spiral out of control, even with the best intentions. With the current political climate I wish everyone would read this story.
I greatly enjoyed reading this book. The author did a great job in revealing both sides of the illegal immigrants issue. You can empathize with both couples throughout the story. It is not an uplifting story though so I don't recommend it if you are looking for a "feel good" book. I do recommend you read it though.
You have to have a strong stomach and appreciate a really heart-wrenching book to enjoy this one. At times you will think, "What more can happen to these people?!" Having grown up in California, the setting of the book rings true to me. Although the story sounds horrific, unfortunately it is a feasible plot. I think people who are really angry with illegal immigrants will gain some compassion to hear the human story of one family.
Read this one for my book club. It started off pretty well with a chance meeting by car accident of an illegal immigrant, Candido, and a naturalist, Delaney. The book follows both men's relationships separately and is meant to be a thought piece on illegal immigration. Unfortunately, it's just darn depressing and gets quite unbelievable with the sheer amount of crap that happens to both groups. There's a column written by Delaney partway through the book that almost had me poking my eyes out over the obvious metaphor of a walled residential community, coyote population control, and the border. The writer has talent but I just plain didn't like the book.
The Tortilla Curtain was an eye-opening novel. Boyle does an amazing job creating protagonists on opposing sides of the conflict. He tells Delaney and Candido's stories in a way that makes the reader sympathize with them, no matter what side of the conflict they are on. However, Boyle also describes other characters, antagonists, who he illustrates are similar to Delaney and Candido in their situation, but have taken up detestable means of solving or attempting to solve their problems. In all, Boyle does an excellent job in creating well-rounded and complex characters to illustrate the immigration controversy prevalent in the U.S. today. I found myself frequently moving back and forth between sides, and in the end, I had no idea how I felt on the subject because I sympathized with both sides so strongly.