Rating: 
Summary: Disturbingly over the top
Review: Boyle certainly makes his point here, presenting the issues he raises with stark clarity. In the intersection of the lives of the Ricon's (a pair of illegal immigrants living rough and barely surviving in the hills above Los Angeles) and the Mossbacher's (a very well-off, politically correct couple living in a gated community within shouting distance of where the Ricon's are "camping") all of the issues of extreme poverty vs. wealth, "illegal" immigration, race relations, and modern mankind's relation with its environment are presented in a manner that the reader would have to be dead from the neck up not to get.And therein lies the problem: Boyle has used his craft in such a crude manner that one feels beaten down and worn out by the time the book comes to its ambiguous ending. Absolutely anything and everthing bad that could ever happen to an poor, illegal immigrant happens to the Ricon's. The ONLY things bad that happen to the Mossbachers is when the environment in which they live takes it's toll, whether it be having their dogs eaten by a coyote or a brush fire in the canyon in which they live in, events to which the Mossbacher's respond in predictably self-indulgent ways. There is no relief from the constant harangue. Both couples are parodies. Now there is nothing wrong with parody but here, where there is no humor, it struck me that a more subtle hand would have made a more readable book. I strongly disagree with those who have reviewed this as "trash"; it's not a bad book; on the contrary, it is well worth reading. (If I could have, I would have rated it three and a half stars as a little better than average). But I equally have trouble with those five star ratings as one of the best books ever or even one of Boyles' best. It is simply too inartful and too crude.
Rating: 
Summary: A Fantastic and Intriguing Read
Review: This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It was actually assigned for a college English course, but I think it's enjoyable even outside of the classroom setting. It follows the lives, in particular the struggles, of Delaney and Candido, two strangers who share a chance encounter that alters their lives forever. Boyle has so many different things working all at the same time, from race, gender, and class to religion, the politics of immigration, and the environment. He seems to touch upon many of the social and political issues that continually cause debates in today's society. Yet he does so in such a subtle way that the reader isn't immediately aware he's doing it. The book is written so that it's enjoyable for both the reader taking it at face value as well as the one searching for deeper meaning. Boyle's ability to paint a world using words makes it hard to put this one down.
Rating:
Summary: Boyle Burns with Intensity
Review: I will keep this short. T.C. Boyle is at his best here, bringing us to a familiar world with familiar dilemmas that come to a head, leaving his characters transformed as well as the reader. Boyle doesn't take sides in this clash of cultures that takes place in a canyon overlooking Los Angeles. His point of view shifts, from the upscale Americans who build their firetrap homes above the canyon, to dirt-poor and desperate Mexican illegals who scratch and claw their way into this culture of riches and waste. The story begins with a collision, and the collisions keep coming, leading up to a cataclysmic one at the novel's climax. Read this book if social issues intrigue you, if you think easy answers to unsolveable problems are a literary cop out. I promised short here. In short, read this book. It's a masterpiece.
Rating: 
Summary: "His whole life was a headache"
Review: Somewhere between the rocky foothills and deep canyons outside Los Angeles, California exist two separate worlds: one inhibited by American citizens and the other by illegal aliens from south of the border. T.C. Boyle's TORTILLA CURTAIN examines the colliding edges of these two very different worlds through the portrayal of four main characters. Delaney Mossbacher is a strong advocate of the preservation of the environment and species. He resides in a gated community on the top of a canyon away from the uncertainties of the city. Delaney lives with his wife, a power real-estate agent and her 6-year-old son from a previous marriage. Meanwhile down in the canyon below Candido and America Rincon are barely making ends meet while constantly dodging the police and INS. While Candido searches high and low every day for work that pays meager wages and no benefits, pregnant America remains in the canyon impatiently waiting for the comfortable apartment, new clothes, and ample food promised to her by Candido before they married and left their Mexican village. Although both couples live in near proximity to each other they live completely different standards of living (hence the use of the title, The Tortilla Curtain.) Throughout the course of this novel there are several chance encounters between the two couples. During these chance encounters each person relies exclusively on stereotypical assumptions of the other. They are frequently reminded of the presence of the other, which only results in deepening anger and misunderstanding levels. As time progresses both Delaney and Mossbacher change their assessment of each other, but in a negative fashion. Delaney modifies his liberal assessments of Mexican immigrants when his own personal world and belief system is disturbed. Meanwhile, Candido feels more entitlement to his illegal presence and acts once he withstands multitude negative actions made against him by gringos. Both wish the other would simply disappear. There is no doubt that there are enough sociopolitical issues abound in THE TORTILLA CURTAIN to make anyone feel uneasy with current political policies. Though I think Boyle succeeds in highlighting both sides of this dire issue, there are instances where I felt he went over the top to achieve his goal (i.e. Candido's constant failure). While I felt that the plot was a little contrived, Boyle's prose is certainly admirable. This book certainly stays with you long after it is put down.
Rating:
Summary: Deserves 6 stars!
Review: While reading House of Sand and Fog earlier this year, I was reminded of another book to read called The Tortilla Curtain by TC Boyle. Friends of mine who live in Southern California had recommended this book to me for sometime and shortly after I finished the Dubus book, I picked up Tortilla Curtain. Now that I've read both of these books I can't stop thinking about both of them, their stories, the characters or unbeliveable outcomes. And if I were to give House of Sand and Fog a 5 star rating, I would surely give 6 stars to The Tortilla Curtain. Tortilla Curtain is the phrase used to describe the thin borders between Mexico and the United States which immigrants cross over in their attempt to live better lives. In this "blow you away novel," TC Boyle offers his readers a plot and characters who are not only involved in the world of illegal aliens but whose lives will never be the same. And for many of us it is as if this novel's premise was lifted off the pages of our daily newspapers and one for which there is no easy solution. Candido along with his wife America are illegal aliens living in the canyons and brush areas of Southern California. When the book opens Candido is hit by a car driven by Delaney a writer for an environmental magazine. Although Candido hurries away from the scene for for fear of being caught and questioned his injuries prevent him from working for the next few days. In eloquent words, the author then describes how America seeks work and is both verbally and physically abused which causes Candido great regrets about crossing the border and bringing America to the US. At the same time nearby in a prosperous planned community, Delaney lives with his wife Kyra, a real estate broker, and her son. The residents of this community are hounded by intruding coyotes in their backyards as well as suspected illegal aliens who rob their homes. Plans are underway to erect a large fence which should keep out all intruders except that Delaney voices his concerns about the fence wondering if the residents aren't locking themselves into their fancy homes. But as the novel continues the people of this community only become more and more incensed and Delaney's words fall on deaf ears Soon enough, though, and after a series of events, Delaney, begins to feel differently about the fence. Even when he knows the truth, he finally becomes out of control concerning any and all who cross the borders illegally. And then one day Candido and Delaney finally meet up again, in what has to be one of the most gripping and stunning conclusions of any book. We read this book through chapters told in the alternating voices of Candido and Delaney until their two voices are ultimately linked together as one struggles against his better judgement and the other struggles to maintain his dignity. This is a powerful and masterful book which describes lives spiraling out of control and should have every reader asking themselves what they would do when faced with similar circumstances.
Rating:
Summary: Thought Provoking, Worth the Read!
Review: I was recommended to read this book by one of my social justice professors at Pepperdine University. This book was so thought provoking. Going to school in Malibu, CA I can see the scenery, the people, and the buildings. It was like I was remembering being at school, not reading a book. The book will make almost any reader feel uncomfortable if they care about social justice. The dilemma of how do we take care of all these immigrants coming into our society? What about the difference between wealthy America and the poor? I would recommend this to anyone! This is worth your time and may change your outlook on social conditions that are growing in the United States.
Rating:
Summary: Excess Melodrama
Review: I'm a T.C. Boyle fan, in that I've read several of his books and tend to enjoy them enough to read another. Tortilla Curtain is the latest I've read, and I unfortunately enjoyed it the least. Boyle is a fun and interesting storyteller, and I enjoyed the first 100 pages or so, feeling it was fairly typical T.C. Boyle. After another 50 pages or so I came to realize that the theme (White, prosperous Americans "bad," innocent, poor, Mexican illegals "good") was not going to develop further. The rest of the book began to feel like trudging through a muddy swamp. The insights the book offered early on eventually turned into a large piece of rhetorical lumber with which the reader is incessantly beat over the head. The fun, quirky, insightful potential that initially draws the reader in evaporates quickly and turns into an amazingly overblown, melodramatic lecture. I can't say I've ever noticed Boyle flirting with this in his other works, and for that I'm glad. Otherwise I would never have continued reading his books. My personal favorite being "East is East."
Rating:
Summary: The Haves and the Have Nots...
Review: Contrasting the lives of a smug, spoiled American couple living the good life and a struggling Mexican illegal and his wife just trying to stay alive, the book is very believable. I am so tired lately of books that attempt to be dramatic and end up being implausible. This book is different. You really believe - you know - that Candido and his wife America are out there, homeless due to unforeseen circumstances that nearly sweep them away. When self-deluded liberal and environmentalist Delaney Mosbacher hits and nearly kills Candido in his gorgeous Audi, as the Mexican tries to cross the California freeway on his way back to his camp in an arroyo with food for America, the stage is set for Delaney's moral downfall. As life falls apart for the Mexican couple, so Delaney's privileged world disintegrates as well, and the novel goes back and forth between the two families, until their unraveling lives finally collide in an ending that could only be described as biblical. In fact, I found many ideas from the Old and New Testament, as well as from mythology, in "Curtain" (and even literature, for in the beginning Candido in his travels north has been as naive as Voltaire's Candide). It's a riveting book. I couldn't wait to get back to it, and was disappointed when it ended. I wanted to know what happened to the protagonists. But it has a fitting ending, in which the meek inherit the Earth, in a manner of speaking. The novel tells us that we cannot escape the misfortunes of others, whether it's homeless immigrants in our backyard or distant war casualties...Read this great book - it's a literary thrill.
Rating: 
Summary: HORRIBLY INACCURATE
Review: I can not begin to describe my disgust with this novel. The way he sets out this farfetched situations just surprises me. He describes immigrants as ignorant people, who are always running. Makes them seem like some kind of animal, I 've seen more respect given in describing a dog.
Rating:
Summary: Essential Issue Addressed, But Writing Needs Editing
Review: There were many aspects of this novel that were less than refreshing. For one, the writing was so superfluous in description that it became a slight annoyance to me. Boyle doesn't just tell you a point and be done with it; you literally have it shoved in your face time and time again. He spends page after page just getting to a minute point. There is an overabundance of similes and metaphors, and the writing comes across as "showy" occasionally. In addition, there were many unlikely coincidences inserted into the plot, such as the two families coming in contact with each other repeatedly that made the climactic finish a bit predictable. The most irritating part was usage of profanity and vulgarity for seemingly unnecessary purposes and at the most unusual times. Reading particular parts that contained profane and crude descriptions made me wonder mainly because it absolutely served no purpose. Not only that, but it doubtlessly made much of the descriptions incongruous alongside the poetic and illustrative adjectives used in the same sentences. I found myself sighing and rolling my eyes at some of the dialogue and explanations. This could have been easily edited, and it would have made for stronger illustration of a scene or idea. Despite the irritations, The Tortilla Curtain gains most of its strength from its distinctive message about the confrontation of two vastly different cultures.
This book underscores the whole illegal immigration issue by pitting together a liberal Southern Californian family with an immigrant couple who have to try to scrape by for their basic necessities. The readers get to see the harsh realities from the point of view of Candido and America, a couple who come to California for a taste of a better life. Facing the reality of living like "animals", their story sets the tone for a deep message about a current problem we face. If one steps back and views this book from a point of symbolism, keeping in mind the essential theme, it serves as an allegory and commentary on injustices faced by many cultures in today's America.
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