Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

The Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle

10 reviews

guinness74's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Holy smokes, that is a novel. I was not expecting the depth and the reality of this book, but wow! Boyle has conjured life at the southern border of the United States and juxtaposed the realities of immigration with the concept of animal invasion against a backdrop of classism and climate change. I mean, really, this book has it all and it’s deafening in how it shows the interconnectedness of all forms of life. 
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knerbbie's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I was so invested in the story, but it was a really depressing read. 
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vinylbob's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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sapient_fossil's review against another edition

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challenging dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Thoughts: feels like a lazy attempt at commentary on racism
Verdict: rape as plot device 😐
Would read again: Hell no
Overall this book was a test of my capacity to hate. Nothing have I hated as much as the experience of being forced to read this book for a grade. The characters were unlikable caricatures and while I recognize that was the intention, it was no fun whatsoever to read. I wouldn’t recommend this book to my worst enemy. I admit it was decently written, but the book focuses so heavily on the racist prejudices of the characters that it reads ridiculously overdone, yet it takes itself too seriously to properly read as caricature. For some reason Boyle thought rape was an appropriate plot device, but absolutely refuses to deal with it empathetically. The same with the Killing the Innocent trope at the end. He just shoves it in for shock value without any empathy for the character. I cannot overstate how angry this made me and idc it’s the point, there’s a difference between feeling rage at the plot and at the entire fucking essence of this sad excuse for a novel. The book lacks any semblance of empathy. Boyle got his message across but Shad M. Brooks himself could execute this better. Would not recommend or read again.
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jenna0818's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I read this book 10 years ago and I read it again and it still slaps. TC Boyle really created a fast paced and gutting story, developing simultaneous storylines that collide multiple times each in a more dramatic way until the characters end up 180 degrees from where they started, for better and worse. I appreciate how such deep themes of prejudice, morality, politics, and identity were woven into a narrative that was so easy to follow and become invested in. I will be thinking about this book for a long time. Thank you for this classic! 
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euhfubeuh's review against another edition

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challenging reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was an interesting and complex commentary on immigration, growing xenophobia, the American Dream, and the struggles of overpopulation and unemployment. The story depicts the collision of two couples during their respective experiences after a car accident; one dealing with homesickness and homelessness, the other with great loss and paranoia.
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lavalierre's review against another edition

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emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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svao78's review against another edition

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dark sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.5

I wish I could say that this is an insightful or thought-provoking piece on the Mexican/Latin American immigrant experience in the US. Sadly, this book presents a stereotypical depiction of undocumented migrants and their experiences within American and Mexican-American communities. The only chapters that might have something of value to say are the torturous sections regarding América's violent and demeaning experiences as a housekeeper. Yet even these chapters are littered with exploitative and vivid violence used to shock rather than provide any form of commentary. On a worse note, almost every chapter that focuses on Delayne is a meandering dive into the mind of an emasculated bigot, who believes doesn't have a biased bone in his body. The idea of dissecting the performative nature of immigration politics among the privileged in California is so interesting and could create such amazing conversations. But Delaney's story presents this issue and says nothing and goes nowhere. I don't mind violence when used within the context of a story, or unlikable characters when there are narrative or thematic reasons for their irredeemable nature. Without narrative justification, you're left feeling cheated and uncomfortable.

It is reductive and simplistic in its analysis of the relationship between undocumented migrants and the American middle class to a degree that leaves the reader wishing that they had spent their time reading something else. 
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yodamordecai's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

Reading this book was painful. Nothung happened until the last 5 pages and then it was so poorly written I couldn’t figure out what was happening. The themes are straight up incoherent and the ending made no sense. I don’t know what the point of this book was.
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shirecrow's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I read this book for school. 
The novel is really good in an uncomfortable way. It shows the truth of the American Dream and how horrible it is to be an illegal immigrant. It has characters with a lot of personality.
Sadly, Boyles writting style did not suit me. It is incredibly slow paced and detailed. I found myself bored, flying over the pages just to be done with it. The female character gets brutalized over and over again which left me feeling sick. I wanna make clear that this novel is SLOW and even glunky with word sometimes.
I liked the reales of it. The daring. The horrible truth. That is it. Sorry.
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