Rating: 
Summary: Good idea, but lack of plot
Review: This book was good about teaching to ignore racial differences and such, but that was about it. I never really got the plot until I was through 75% of the book. This book is way too slow moving.
Rating: 
Summary: The Coyote Subplot
Review: As I read this book, I questioned the emphasis on the coyote in the writer's plot -- it's cunning and ability to survive in the wild. It may have been an allegory for the human "coyotes" who promise north-bound immigrants a world where the streets are paved with gold, take their money, then leave them on their own in a strange culture without any resources. The desparation they must feel is unimaginable. This book describes the feeling of desparation very well. Other criticisms that there is so much "coincidence" and an unusual number of "tragedies" in the plot are valid, but the overall message and story is a good one.
Rating:
Summary: Brings prejudices to the surface
Review: This book is an excellent book and deals with real life issues. It is a story about two families and how their lives interact together yet how different they can be. One is a couple recently "married" by leaving Mexico for a better life and hope in America. The other family is a middle class American family, a stepfather, Delaney, mother and son, who are getting along with what they have and just try to get through the pressures of their life. It describes in detail the horribleness of poverty and prejudices that are often times hidden from the public. On a recent missions trip to innercity Los Angeles I was able to confirm the reality in this book and was in shock of how others are treated. It helps you to open your eyes and care for others who are different from you. You don't see them as different but as one of God's children, as we all are. It also helps us to look as circumstances and take for granted what we DO have, which seems to be a lot more than others. This is an excellent book and I would recommend it to anyone, people of all kinds.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent - realisitc portrayal of Southern California
Review: Never in my entire life have I seen such an accurate portrayal of the Southern California lifestyle. I was born and raised in San Diego and spent several years living in Los Angeles. When I read this book I couldn't believe how well Boyle had studied the southern California lifestyle. There are dozens of Candido's and Americas all over Southern California that people fail to see. For sixteen years my family has helped our gardener and his family settle in San Diego. I have heard plenty of nightmarish immigration stories. Furthermore, I was absolutely mesmerized by Boyle's descriptions of Delaney and Kyra. Unfortunately, there are millions of Delaneys and Kyras running rampant in Los Angeles. I applaud Boyle for painting such a realistic picture of LA. and for taking the time to observe what life is really like and not what we'd like to believe life is like.
Rating:
Summary: Best book I've ever read...
Review: I won't write a whole lot on this book, but i will say this--hands down this is one of the greatest books I have read in my lifetime. It reaches deep down into some of the most secret places of your heart. Read it--you'll be doing yourself a hugh diservice if you don't.
Rating:
Summary: From American Dream to American Nightmare
Review: T.C. Boyle's "Tortilla Curtain" is a modern novel with classic topics: racism, hate, tolerance, differences, the belief in god, materialism and ethnical conflicts. What makes the novel interesting in the first place are the two parallel-elapsing worlds which suddenly cross sometimes: Delany and Kyra Mossbachers posh lives in wealth and health and the very opposite, Candido and America Rincons story in garbage, dust and hunger. This is very ironical, because both couples live only miles or even meters away from each other. Therefore the same natural disasters disturb them and change their lives, and that's one of Tortilla Curtain's main meanings: nature and god treat and threaten all humans or all beings equally. The novel is very thrilling and dazzling until the end and provides irony, melancoly, humor and a taste of hard reality except of the dramatical ending. I liked the novel and I think it might be important to use the book as standard literature in schools of industrial nations - it might change people's minds...
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good if a 16 year old likes it
Review: What comes to mind first when you hear the word "immigrant?" Most people see it as a lazy, uneducated field worker who has no real purpose here but to sit back and exploit our country. When you read this book, maybe it will make you think twice the next time you look down upon minorities. Perhaps the most brilliant idea in this book was the fact that it didn't portray either "side" as better or "in pity." Sure, at times you can't help but feel pity for the conditions the immigrants have to live in, but the book isn't centered around on migrants and how they have it hard in this country. Boyle makes you see both sides of the issue, he doesn't try to sway you one way or another. While other racism-centered books seem to sway the reader towards one side, The Tortilla Curtain leaves it entirely up to the reader to decide how they feel. This objective on such a controversial topic makes this book a masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book!
Review: This book was one I could not put down. I've read it five or six times. The story is great and I love how Boyle goes back and forth between the lives of the opposite sets of poeple! A great read!
Rating:
Summary: the perspective
Review: This is a really good book because it shows an example of a parallel storyline where two storylines run the same in one book. This book is also great because of its drama
Rating:
Summary: easy to read, big message
Review: This was easily my favorite book of the year. I enjoyed looking at Southern California from the perspective of an immigrant from Mexico. The writing was flawless, your interest is maintained.
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