Product Description

When Delaney Mossbacher knocks down a Mexican pedestrian, he neither reports the accident nor takes his victim to hospital. Instead the man accepts $20 and limps back to poverty and his pregnant 17-year-old wife, leaving Delaney to return to his privileged life in California. But these two men are fated against each other, as Delaney attempts to clear the land of the illegal immigrants who he thinks are turning his state park into a ghetto, and a boiling pot of racism and prejudice threatens to spill over.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #97648 in Books
• Published on: 2004-07-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Review
'This novel examines America's guerrilla war between the haves and have-nots with a zing unequalled since The Bonfire of the Vanities' Observer 'A harrowing, even horrific, tale of an immigrant couple's venture into California, and the shockingly brutal reception they receive ... a remarkable feat of imaginative empathy' Daily Telegraph 'Thrilling ... it's the same set up as Tom Wolfe's The Bonfire of the Vanities but Boyle immediately enlivens it' Independent on Sunday 'A powerful novel ... One of the best books I've read this year' Marie Claire

Marie Claire
‘A powerful novel … One of the best books I’ve read this year’

From the Publisher
A classic novel by America's foremost novelist

Customer Reviews

Well Written And Very Impressionable
This is the first for me, reading a book by T. Coraghessan Boyle, and I was very impressed by his work.

This book is set in Los Angeles and focuses strongly on two couples from totally different social and economical backgrounds. Kyra and Delaney Mossbacher are the upper class Americans; while Candido and America Rincon are illegal immigrants from South of the border.....Mexico.

The Tortilla Curtain is the border between Mexico and Los Angeles which the immigrants cross illegally to find work as labourers and a better way of life in that state.

The Mexicans endure severe hardships for little money as they enter this country of the 'well to do'. Meanwhile the 'upper crust' are flourishing for all to see, their main problem being to keep the immigrants out. As much as they are rich and better off one begins to feel that the immigrant Mexican has a more contented heart. They seem fulfilled at times with a deep satisfaction, passion and feeling that the 'upper crust' are unable to project. They are poor.....but their spirits are strong and hard to break.

See what life becomes for these two couples from opposite sides of the track....and you will find these characters living in your memories for a long time. This is the type of book that one hates to finish. Get it for Christmas....I got mine. Well written and highly recommended!!

A must read book
I *ADORED* this book. The writing is accomplished, the characterisation is superb, the plot is rivetting and the detail is outstanding, but it's the moral message - without ever resorting to preaching - that elevates this book from the excellent to the extraordinary.

Set in America - California to be precise - the story is essentially about the haves and the have nots. There are two view points throughout, told in alternate chapters, which reveal the contrasts between the protectionist middle classes who live with a fortress mentality and the poverty-stricken illegal immigrants (from Mexico) who struggle to put food on their plate on a day-to-day basis despite the obvious and abundant wealth around them.

It all begins when Delaney Mossbacher, a stay-at-home house-husband who writes a naturalist column, knocks down a Mexican pedestrian, Candido, on a busy road near his home. Candido, shocked and unable to understand English, "refuses" any assistance offered by Delaney. Instead he accepts the $20 guilt money handed to him and limps off into the canyon he now calls "home" where his pregnant 17-year-old wife, America, awaits him.

The rest of the book follows the plight of Candido and America's battle against deprivation, racism and the "law of the jungle". Meanwhile, Delaney's comfortable existence on a private estate is shaken by wild intruders - of both the human and animal kind - and his liberal left-wing ideas become slowly eroded because, when push comes to shove, all he wants to do is protect his family and his property.

Despite some heavy subject matter, Boyle has such a great writing style that you never feel as though you are being hit over the head with any IMPORTANT message. In fact I chuckled quite a lot when reading this book, mainly at the ridiculousness of Delaney's actions and his neighbours attitudes towards "outsiders".

But be warned: admid the laughter there will also be tears. There are two particular incidents in The Tortilla Curtain which broke my heart, they are so gut-wrenchingly, painfully sad.

All in all this is a must read book.

Are you a Have or Have-not?
This is such a wonderful read. Rich, insular American Dream coexists with desparate Mexican poverty. Comparisons with Steinbeck are inevitable but Mr Boyle can be proud of writing what I feel will be regarded as a classic to stand alone. A marvellous mix of characters interwoven with themes which challenge ideas and perceptions of race, class, wealth and consciensce.
Read this. You won't forget it.