The Tortilla Curtain
Encyclopedia
The Tortilla Curtain is a novel by U.S. author T.C. Boyle about middle-class values, illegal immigration, a fear and hatred of foreigners, poverty, and environmental destruction. Of the twelve novels Boyle has written so far, The Tortilla Curtain has turned out to be his most successful.

Plot summary

Cándido Rincón (33) and América (his pregnant common law wife, 17) are two Mexicans
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 who enter the United States illegally, dreaming of the good life in their own little house somewhere in California. Meanwhile, they are homeless and camping at the bottom of the Topanga Canyon area of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, in the hills above Malibu. Another couple, Delaney and Kyra Mossbacher, have recently moved into a gated community on top of Topanga, in order to be closer to nature yet be close enough to the city to enjoy those amenities. Kyra is a successful real estate agent while Delaney keeps house, looks after Kyra's son by her first marriage and writes a regular column for an environmentalist magazine.

The two couples' paths cross unexpectedly when Cándido is hit and injured by Delaney, who is driving his car along the suburban roads near his home. For different reasons, each man prefers not to call the police or an ambulance. Cándido is afraid of being deported and Delaney is afraid of ruining his perfect driving record. Delaney soothes his conscience by giving Cándido "$20 blood money," explaining to Kyra that "He's a Mexican." From that moment on, the lives of the two couples are constantly influenced by the others.

After the accident, Cándido's problems deepen. At first he can't work after being injured by the car crash and when he does not find a temporary job at a local work exchange anymore, he unavailingly tries to find one in the city, hoping to save money for an apartment in the North despite the low wages offered. With América, his wife, pregnant, his shame at not being able to get a job and procure a home and food for his family increases, especially when América decides to find some illegal—and possibly dangerous—work herself. At one point in the novel, after Cándido is robbed by some Mexicans in the city, they are forced to go through the trash cans behind a fast-food restaurant so as not to starve.

The Mossbachers, Delaney's family, are also having problems of their own, though of an altogether different nature. Comfortably settled in their new home, in a gated community, they are faced with the cruelty of nature when one of their two pet dogs is killed by a coyote
Coyote
The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...

. In addition, the majority of inhabitants of their exclusive estate feel increasingly disturbed and threatened by the presence of—as they see it—potentially criminal, illegal aliens and vote for a wall to be built around the whole estate.

Cándido has a stroke of luck when he is given a free turkey at a grocery store by another customer, who has just received it through the store's Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...

 promotion. When Cándido starts roasting the bird back in their shelter, he inadvertently causes a fire which spreads so quickly that even the gated community
Gated community
In its modern form, a gated community is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly-controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences. Gated communities usually consist of small residential...

 the Mossbachers live in has to be evacuated.

In the midst of the escalating disasters, América gives birth to Socorro, a daughter, whom she suspects might be blind. But the couple has no money to see the doctor. Delaney stalks Candido back to their shack. He carries a gun, but doesn't intend to kill Candido with it. Meanwhile, America tells Candido about the night when she was raped, as she suspects that the baby's blindness was caused by venereal disease transmitted by the rapist. Just as she is telling him this, Delaney finds their shack and is about to confront Candido about the forest fire, when the shack is knocked over in a landslide. Candido and America manage to save themselves, but Socorro is drowned in a river. The book ends with Candido helping Delaney out of the river.
Time and again in the novel, however, it is hinted at that the real perpetrators can be found inside rather than outside the projected wall: well-to-do people insensitive to the plight of the have-nots.

Book information

Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle
  • Hardcover
    Hardcover
    A hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...

     – ISBN 0-670-85604-5 (1995, First Edition)
  • Hardcover
    Hardcover
    A hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...

     – ISBN 1-56895-287-2 (1996, Large Type Edition)
  • Paperback
    Paperback
    Paperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...

     – ISBN 0-14-023828-X (1996)

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were attached to the project. It was slated for release in 2010, but is now being scripted for release in 2011.

External links

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