The Tortilla Curtain

Wuthering Bites Book Club Review at a Glance

What We Said

The Tortilla Curtain is fast-paced, hard-hitting book about topics that don't have easy answers or happy resolutions - dreams of a better life, problems of illegal emigration and predjudices. T.C. Boyle tells two stories - one of a typical white american middleclass family, and the other a poor illegal immigrant mexican couple. Their paths cross, or come close to crossing a few times in the novel. Each chapter alternates with viewpoints from all 4 characters. I found the book to be completely compelling, eye-opening and thought-provoking. Minor criticisms were that the events in the book kept going from bad to worse. It can be difficult and even a bit unbelievable to continue to see the characters being knocked down over and over again. And admittedly the stereotypes in this book were viewed as slightly too simplistic as well. More depth and complexity could have made the novel have a broader appeal. That being said, I would still recommend this book. I have thought of it often over the months since I've finished it.
-Sue

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T. Coraghessan Boyle was born in 1948 and grew up in Peekskill, New York. He is a graduate of the State University of New York at Potsdam, and received his doctorate in nineteenth-century English literature from the University of Iowa in 1977. Since 1977, Boyle has taught creative writing at the University of Southern California. While in college, Boyle exchanged his middle name, John, for the unusual Coraghessan, the name of one of his Irish ancestors. Boyle is the author of several novels. His work has appeared in major American magazines, including The New Yorker, Esquire, Harper's, The Paris Review, and The Atlantic Monthly. Boyle lives with his wife, Karen, and their three children near Santa Barbara, California, in a house designed in 1909 by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

• The Tortilla Curtain, 1996
• Descent of Man, 1979
• Water Music, 1982
• Budding Prospects, 1984
• Greasy Lake, 1985
• World's End, 1987
• If the River Was Whiskey, 1989
• East Is East, 1990
• The Road to Wellville, 1993
• Without a Hero, 1994
• Drop City, 2003

Glowing Reviews and Other Opinions

"Succeeds in stealing the front page news and bringing it home to the great American tradition of the social novel." - The Boston Globe

"Lays on the line our national cult of hypocrisy. Comically and painfully he details the smug wastefulness of the haves and the vile misery of the have-nots." - Barbara Kingsolver, The Nation

"A compelling story of myopic misunderstanding and mutual tragedy. - Chicago Tribune

"The Tortilla Curtain qualifies as that rarest of artistic achievements--a truly necessary book." - The San Diego Union-Tribune

"Weaving social commentary into moving entertaining fiction is a job few writers can handle. Boyle does so here, admirably. Readers should not miss this latest work from an impressive talent.... Many generations of great satirists come to mind when reading it--from Swift to Twain to Waugh to Woody Allen." - The Baltimore Sun

Reading Group Guide

These questions and suggested topics are offered to enhance your discussion of this book.

• At the beginning of the story, Delaney accidentally hits C·ndido with his car. "For a long moment, they stood there, examining each other, unwitting perpetrator and unwitting victim." How does this encounter set the tone for the events that follow? Does it come full circle in the final scene?
• The novel is forged on the cultural, social, and financial differences between the Mossbachers and the RincÛns. It alternates between the two couples' points of view, allowing the reader to enter the lives of both families. How does this technique propel the story? Do you feel that you got to know each of the couples equally well? Was the author fair in his portrayal of each of the couples? Is he too harsh in his portrayal of the Mossbachers, as one reviewer suggested?
• C·ndido and AmÈrica crossed the border in search of a better life for themselves and their unborn child. They do not ask for much and are willing to work hard, yet they are constantly met with resistance and failure. There are numerous references to C·ndido's bad luck. Is he unlucky? Is there anything he could have done to have changed his luck? What does this story say about the American dream?
• The symbol of the coyote appears throughout the novel and represents illegal Mexican immigrants. In his nature column, Delaney writes, "The coyote is not to blame--he is only trying to survive, to make a living, to take advantage of the opportunities available to him." He concludes the same column by writing, "The coyotes keep coming, breeding up to fill in the gaps, moving in where the living is easy. They are cunning, versatile, hungry and unstoppable." How do these passages reflect Delaney's mixed feelings about illegal immigrants? Is he a hypocrite? As the novel progresses, Delaney's humanistic beliefs give way to racism and resentment, and he directs his rage at all illegal immigrants onto C·ndido. When confronted with evidence that C·ndido is not the vandal at Arroyo Blanco, he destroys it. Why does Delaney need to believe that the vandal is C·ndido? How does Delaney evolve from being a "liberal humanist" to a racist?
• Boundaries--both real and imagined--play a large role in the novel, especially the front gate at Arroyo Blanco Estates. In what other instances do boundaries appear and what do they represent? What roles do the different characters play in constructing these boundaries?
• In a recent interview Boyle stated, "If it's satire, it has to bite somebody, has to have teeth in it, otherwise it's useless." How does satire affect The Tortilla Curtain and the telling of the story? Is it a successful technique?
• The novel concludes with Delaney confronting C·ndido with a gun, followed by a mud slide. In an almost simultaneous moment, C·ndido realizes his baby is missing and reaches down to offer Delaney a hand. One is a frightening image and the other an act of generosity. How do these contrasting images play off one another? Did the conclusion leave you with a feeling of hope or despair?
• During an argument with Jack Jardine, Delaney makes the following statement: "Do you realize what you're saying? Immigrants are the lifeblood of this country--and neither of us would be standing here today if it wasn't." In another instance, Jack says to Delaney, "What do you expect, when all you bleeding hearts want to invite the whole world in here to feed at our trough without a thought as to who's going to pay for it, as if the American taxpayer was like Jesus Christ with his loaves and fishes." How do these two sentiments play out in the novel and in the larger issue of immigration?
• The author stated in the Conversation section of this guide that he feels it is a novelist's job to inhabit people of other races and sexes, for his own understanding of an issue as well as for the reader's. Did The Tortilla Curtain help you to better understand the issue of immigration and the people involved?
• The author does not offer a solution to the problem of illegal immigration, for which he was praised by several reviewers. Do you think he should have offered a solution?