Had to read T.C. Boyle’s The Tortilla Curtain for my social geography class today. Didn’t really like it. The contrasts between the characters’ worlds were too wide and their mindsets too static. And I question reading something that feels so fictionalized to me, with a plot that reads for a Hollywood movie. Or at least made for t.v. There was great care taken to layout Delaney’s turn from hypothetical liberal humanist to gun-totting enraged xenophobe, but not nearly as much detail given to flesh out the characters of Candido and America who are left to the borderlands of coyotes and given the same degree of instincts. I’m overwhelmed more by the book’s weaknesses than by it’s supposedly hightened look at race and immigration within our country. Boyle does illuminate the concept of invisibility, but does not do more than a surface probing of its implications.

The book was very interesting. I liked hearing both sides. But the ending was not good. Too many things left unresolved. I felt there was no closure.

Great plot. I will never look at the Mexican workers in my town the same way again. My outlook is changed for the better. T.C. Boyle is amazing.

www.shelfnotes.com

Dear Reader,

This is my first T.C. Boyle book, and it was a very interesting introduction to a novelist I've heard many good things about! You might be wondering why I chose to read a book that was first published in 1995 and sometimes feels somewhat dated. Well, it's largely because it was an audiobook, and available from my library's Overdrive offerings, so I figured I'd give it a go - I've been wanting to read Boyle for ages now, and I saw this and downloaded it. Simple as that. Like I said, it wasn't probably the best book to start with, but it's too late now, and besides - I still very much enjoyed reading it! It was especially enjoyable to hear Boyle read his own work; I always prefer when authors narrate, because then I feel like I am truly getting to hear how they wanted every word to be read.

Some might find my initial comparison to David Foster Wallace odd, but it recalled strongly to me the feel of The Pale King, Wallace's posthumously-released (and never actually finished!) exploration into the life and history of an IRS employee. Perhaps it was Boyle's attention to details about people which struck me as very similar to DFW. In any case, that first impression didn't last the entire book, but it was something I wanted to make note of, in case anyone else enjoyed The Pale King as much as I did.

The story revolves around the lives of two very different couples - that of white, upper-middle-class Delaney and Kyra Mossbacher compared with that of almost-starving, illegal-immigrant Cándido Rincon and his young wife América. Their lives cross paths suddenly and unexpectedly one day when Delaney mistakenly hits Cándido with his car as the latter was trying to cross the road. From there, the story unfolds by taking turns alternating focus between all four of the main adult characters. Delaney writes a nature column and is stay-at-home dad; he is generally a very laid-back and open-minded kind of guy. Compare that with his wife Kyra, an ambitious real estate agent who longs for the safety and comfort she believes money can bring. Meanwhile, the reader gets to delve into the tough and hand-to-mouth life that Cándido and América must endure; the one cannot work because he is hurt, so the other must take odd jobs as she can get them, even though women are much less desirable at the labor pool where all illegal Mexicans congregate every morning in order to offer up their low-cost services to the rich white gringos who want to keep as much of their own money as possible.

The story begins simply as a recounting of both sides' passions, beliefs, and situations, but then begins to reveal itself for what it really is: a thorough examination of the racial tensions which tore through California during the late 90s. It was especially interesting reading it as a native New Englander and self-proclaimed liberal, who never had to experience either side of such a difficult situation. But I did find it fascinating alternating between feeling kind of "above" the Mossbachers' somewhat materialistic lifestyle, and feeling bad for the struggles that the Mexicans had to endure. However, you do find yourself (or at least, I did!) understanding more about where each side is coming from. Since the Mossbachers never really get to see what the Rincons are going through, it's easy to understand why they become upset and scared when they lose beloved pets and become victims of vandalizing. And you can't help but feel a deep sense of tragedy for the Rincons and their situation, which feels like it is always impossible to dig out of, even when they get a break here and there.

Ultimately, I got the impression that Boyle's novel was about the importance of communication. The need for all of us not to jump to conclusions about people based simply on their appearance or their actions. We can never know what situation we will find ourselves in; it does help to try to empathize as much as possible, I do believe. I think the ending of the book was beautiful, even if it felt somewhat lacking initially - I couldn't believe it was the end, just like that! - but I found after thinking about it that I loved how it stopped where it did. It left the reader with perhaps a bit of hope, or at least an open-ended question about what could have transpired thereafter.

I would recommend this book to most readers, even despite some of its dated references and feel. I think it's always a great idea to walk in someone else's shoes for a little while from time to time.

Happy Reading!
Yours,
Arianna

This was my second read. Going through physical books I've kept and reading one more time before I donate. I love T.C. Boyle, he's one of my favorite writers. This book, while published in 1995, seriously holds up, especially with its subject matter, immigration. The characters are fully-formed. Now that I've lived in Los Angeles for over 8 years, I loved reading Boyle's descriptions of the terrain and its people. He's on the money. He's fun to read and lets the reader make their own judgments.

However, the ending was BS. I hate "non-endings," like this. It felt like someone pulled the cord on the electricity.

Well, even though I am not ignorant about immigration issues, this book made me more aware, and it encouraged me to be thoughtful, so I liked it for that. I liked the writing style and enjoyed most of the story.

I wasn’t wild about some of the events that happened toward the end of the book: I thought they were heavy handed and unnecessary; it was the slice of life events that I found most interesting and I didn’t need any big “blockbuster” events.

Rife with symbolism and commentary on various topics & themes: most especially America’s illegal immigration and Mexico’s dire poverty problems, but also: coyotes & nature/desperate Mexican immigrants/affluent white southern Californians; different kinds of prisons; the drive for survival; nature & human nature; the presence or absence of safety; inequities: have and have-nots human beings; etc.

I haven’t uttered the phrase “it isn’t fair” since I was seven because I’m acutely aware that nothing about life is fair. But, I felt somewhat depressed and despairing when reading this book. Maybe that was part of the point. I do live in California, and I’ve known people from both “sides” of the human condition presented here, and plenty of those (like me) who are in-between the two extremes. I do appreciate that there wasn’t an attempt to give any easy answers regarding illegal immigration.