The Tortilla Curtain by T. C. Boyle

by T.C. Boyle

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.

Audio CD

About the author

T. Coraghessan Boyle

Reviews

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel sick. This book should be required reading in schools, especially considering the historical scourge of ICE that we’re currently living through. fuck ICE, fuck Trump, fuck all of the racist fucks in this country. thank you.

[Tina Susak]

Brutal.

[Judy Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good but idk if I enjoyed it…. Like grapes of wrath. The story needs to be told and the twist at the end redeemed the book.

[Georg Ludwig]

made me sad :/

[Laura Curvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Telecom technology (pay phones, cordless phones, giant car phones!), the always reliable marker of a story's era, is the only element that prevents us from assuming this novel isn't set in 2025. I'm not sure I needed more reasons to feel rage towards my own race -- and even political leanings -- but TC Boyle expertly skewers all of us, hypocritical liberals in particular, in the context of immigration, brown people, unhoused people and humanity. Incredible writing. Thoroughly gripping.

[Heather Bivona]

Good story about illegal immigration

[Lauren Strick · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolutely scathing, satirical commentary about immigration and xenophobia. Once again, T.C. Boyle’s writing had me enraptured from beginning to end.