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Book Reviews of The Tortilla Curtain

The Tortilla Curtain
The Tortilla Curtain
Author: T. Coraghessan Boyle
ISBN-13: 9780670856046
ISBN-10: 0670856045
Publication Date: 1995
Pages: 368
Rating:
  • Currently 3.4/5 Stars.
 16

3.4 stars, based on 16 ratings
Publisher: Viking Adult
Book Type: Hardcover
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

5 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

23dollars avatar reviewed The Tortilla Curtain on + 432 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I read THE TORTILLA CURTAIN for the May 2015 pick in my neighborhood book club.

And what a dank, dreary and depressing book it is! I could never recommend it.

It started off interestingly enough with a white man accidentally running over a Mexican man in the street, giving him $20 and continuing on his way. It wasn't really his fault, the Mexican didn't want any help and barely spoke any English. But then it goes off into their individual stories (one depressing development after another, illustrating that while they were socioeconomically as different as can be, the two were much more alike than they were different) before having them cross paths again in the end for a depressingly washed out finish! Quite literally.

I give this book a C-. I found much of it easily skimmable. The narrative lacked any real focus and basically rendered itself pointless despite the point it apparently tried to make. Meh.
Judyh avatar reviewed The Tortilla Curtain on + 229 more book reviews
T.C. Boyle is one of those rare and unusual writers, you really have to experience him. This is a story about a liberal affluent couple in Southern California that has a close encounter with another couple who are illegal immigrants from Mexico. I recommend it to my friends frequently -- it's not your standard story.
reviewed The Tortilla Curtain on
This may be my new favorite author!!! I loved this book. It is incredibly well written and kept me turning the pages to see what happens next. There is such a great blend of humor and reality as we see the clash of two totally opposite lifestyles.. The tofu-eating environmentalist and the poor Mexican and his wife just struggling to survive... A great story by a very talented author.
TarynC avatar reviewed The Tortilla Curtain on + 213 more book reviews
i really enjoyed this book till I got 3/4 through it and by the time I got to the end I was thoroughly disappointed. It is a timely discussion, all about illegal immigration and that is what drew me to it. The basic premiss, I felt, was that its not good for anyone involved. I just think the book was very predictable and the author didnt quite know how to end it.
fiberartist avatar reviewed The Tortilla Curtain on + 50 more book reviews
I have always liked Boyle's writing. This one is breathtakingly good. The difference between the haves and have not has been so well shown. I give it 5 stars.
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