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sarah_thrive 's review for:

The Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle
4.0

I'm giving this book a four star rating because I love the author's dual perspective approach to the hot-button issue of illegal immigration. Also, because the use of imagery was abundant and highly effective.

I'm not giving it five stars because I think Boyle was a bit heavy-handed when it came to the never-ending onslaught of terrible luck visited on lead characters Cándido and América. Yes, it's meant to be an unflinching look at the horrors illegal immigrants face, but I think the narrative would have been well-served by a bit of contrast...even the most horrible day contains small moments of love, or hope, or goodness. The absence of these moments makes the story feel a bit two-dimensional and keeps readers from bonding more deeply with the characters.