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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
A beautifully written story that captures the pain and truth behind the lives of both undocumented immigrants and wealthy liberals.
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The novel begins with a chance encounter between Delany Mossbacher, an environmentalist and nature writer, and Candido Rincon, an illegal Mexican immigrant. As Candido is returning to his canyon campsite after a day of labor, Delaney accidentally hits him with his car. These two men narrate much of the novel as they live their separate, but always intersecting, lives. There is no mistaking that this is a political novel, but the politics are complicated, not polemic. It is clear that the members of the exclusive, gated community that the Mossbachers (Delaney and his wife Kyra, who also narrates) feel invaded, not only by the waves of immigrants, but also by the coyotes that come over the fence and snatch the Mossbachers' two small dogs, serving as a complicated metaphor for the immigrants in the community. However, the dynamic is complicated when the members of the community invite in the Mexican labor to build the very walls meant to keep them (and the coyotes) out.
Candido and his young wife, named America, are not entirely sympathetic characters either, although it is clear that they are at least partially victim to a situation that at is not of their making. Candido's sense of pride is one of his tragic downfalls that puts him and America in many perilous situations. And it is not only the white characters that inflict violence (of all kinds) on the couple, but instead the novel reveals the cruelty that is possible in all human relationships. In the end - to simplify it terribly- it is clear that when we can't share and get along, everybody loses.
Then there is the environment itself, which provides much of the dramatic tension in the novel. I will leave it at that, and say that the novel is certainly worth reading and thinking about. However, it is sad and complicated, but very appropriate reading material for our time.
Candido and his young wife, named America, are not entirely sympathetic characters either, although it is clear that they are at least partially victim to a situation that at is not of their making. Candido's sense of pride is one of his tragic downfalls that puts him and America in many perilous situations. And it is not only the white characters that inflict violence (of all kinds) on the couple, but instead the novel reveals the cruelty that is possible in all human relationships. In the end - to simplify it terribly- it is clear that when we can't share and get along, everybody loses.
Then there is the environment itself, which provides much of the dramatic tension in the novel. I will leave it at that, and say that the novel is certainly worth reading and thinking about. However, it is sad and complicated, but very appropriate reading material for our time.
slow-paced
The Tortilla Curtain offers rich metaphor after rich metaphor as the walls go up around a gated community in southern California. I know a book is working its way into my heart and mind when I find myself drifting off to sleep and am startled awake discovering that I was praying for the characters. For anyone who cares about the issues surrounding immigration this book shows the humans on both sides of the fence for what they are--Human. Beautiful, flawed, struggling humans.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Aside from the obvious race/immigration issues, this book clearly describes how simple misunderstandings, poor communication and negative expectations can create conflict, more negativity and reinforce prejudice. Ending was pretty inconclusive and sad - such is life!
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a very flawed but deeply important story. Perhaps it's not a good book but it's certainly a great one.
A curiosity of a book, published in 1996 which undertakes some pretty heavy issues of immigration, illegal Mexicans, racism, safety, the American way. In 2010 this novel resonates heavily given the new laws in Arizona which target illegals and, moreover, anyone who looks like they could be illegal.
The story deals with two couples – Delaney and Kyra, a well-to-do Californian couple with a kid, a couple of yapper dogs and a cat, living in a community struggling to keep the riff-raff out, home prices up, be safe and enjoy the life they’ve worked hard to earn. Meet the other couple, America and Candido, illegal Mexicans who crossed the Tortilla Curtain (the US-Mexican porous border) risking their lives with the hope of making in a couple of months what would take all year to make in Mexico. They are robbed, swindled, lied to and worse – and that’s only by fellow Mexicans. They wind up living in a ravine just down from Delaney and Kyra’s house; living, though, is too strong a word, they merely survive, camping out with no running water nor shelter, hiding from the “migra” (immigration police) and other Mexican thugs willing to steal from anyone.
These two unlikely couples come in contact when Delaney hits Candido with his car; shocked, he reaches in his wallet and throws $20 at Candido as the Mexican hobbles away, terrified of going to a doctor as that would lead to deportation. As Candido lies in his campsite, tended to by his pregnant wife America, the full weight of what has happened falls on him, as not only can he not stand and walk, there is no way he can make it up the ravine and get any work. And so America, at 17 years old and pregnant goes to work. Meanwhile, Delaney, a naturalist broadminded kind of guy deals with his guilt while his wife works the neighborhood trying vehemently to get a wall built up around their subdivision and keep out coyotes – both of the 4 legged and 2 legged varieties.
Over the course of several weeks, events spiral terribly out of control. The couples, each in their own way, can’t seem to cut a break. If there is a weak spot in the book, it is this part of the plot, which is unrelenting and heavy.
This is not a book of clear cut characters. The plot is not black and white. Boyle succeeds in allowing the reading to ride the fence. At one point siding with the Americans and at others siding with the Mexicans. Both the Delayney and his wife Kyra, and Candido and America are trying to better their lives. They come to the reader quite flawed, and as such, at times hard to sympathize with, although the plight of Candido and America is gut-wrenching.
What Boyle doesn’t really explore in depth are the white Californians who hire illegal Mexicans, exploit them, use their cheap labor to build the walls that ultimately distance them. He lays it out throughout the novel, for the reader to decide on, there are no quick fixes, easy answers or tidy endings.