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The Tortilla Curtain  By  cover art

The Tortilla Curtain

By: T. C. Boyle
Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat
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Publisher's summary

PEN-Faulkner Award-winning author T. Coraghessan Boyle weaves together the stories of two families in Southern California: one affluent, the other destitute. As Boyle creates a counterpoint of personal needs, civic responsibility, and social custom, each family's quest for the American Dream fuels deep fear and anger that ultimately lead to a perilous confrontation.
©1995 T. Coraghessan Boyle (P)2003 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"This highly engaging story subtly plays on our consciences, forcing us to form, confirm, or dispute social, political, and moral viewpoints. This is a profound and tragic tale, one that exposes not only a failed American Dream, but a failing America." (Booklist)

What listeners say about The Tortilla Curtain

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The Tortilla Curtain

A book that challenges social conscience.
An illegal immigrant and his young pregnant wife strive to survive while staying invisible in a wealthy southern California. They interact with other immigrants, unscrupulous and sometimes predatory employers, the authorities, and the wealthy citizens of the area. We see how one of these citizens, who at the onset is a supporter of America as being a land of opportunity for all, by the end sees the squatters as the cause of problems complicating his family's life and damaging the ecology of their land. Its possible to sympathize with both sides and realize there is not a simple answer..

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent!

A tortured and passionate story of illegal immigrants and California natives, fear and naivete, hope and hate. This could have been written at any time in the past fifty years, and would be as relevant as it was when it was published. The characters are rich and I felt for them with every turn of the story. Despite the series of misfortunes that befall the characters, the author manages to end the book on a hopeful note, which made me smile. This is a great listen for all ages.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

really drags

Learning how the immigrants survive is interesting. But as an audiobook this really drags. I prefer unabridged audiobooks but abridgement is needed to make this book tolerable. The social theme of contrast between comfortable life of residents vs desperate life of the immigrants is hammered way, way beyond what is needed. We get it already, let the events speak for themselves. The internal dialog of the characters is tedious. Also, there are too many descriptions, many of which are not at all of interest. Avoid this audiobook.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Annoying !

The woman who reads this book was annoying to listen to -- to say the least. I could hear her continually swallowing and making various smacking sounds. I found myself thinking about how I couldn't stand to listen to her (but had to because it was for a class reading assignment) more than listening to the story. Appears author used his thesaurus frequently also annoying... you'll understand when you start listening. Wouldn't recommend to anyone.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

The Tortilla Curtain

At times, very exciting, but overall quite boring. The ending left me unsatisfied,

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Dark Reality of Illegal Immigration

This book has Stayed with me many months after listening to it. The characters are real people for me. Their trials and adventures are real. I was born and raised in the area where this book is set. Although it is a work of fiction, every detail is vividly correct. The environment is one of the characters. I know this setting and now I know the inner lives of the people in this book. I do not look at day workers or the ongoing debates about immigration the same way since listening to The Tortilla Curtain. This is a fascinating and beautifully crafted story and a major commentary on an ongoing problem. I highly recommend this book for pleasure and for enlightenment..

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Endless

Sometimes the difference between a good book and a great book is the ending. This book didn't have one.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Ugh!

This was a sad, depressing story that just never picked up. The narrator is one of my favorites, and she did a great job. I just couldn’t wait for it to be over. A real downer. :(

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good listen

This was a good book to listen to. Gives you a good insight of how life for immigrants were in the 90s

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good read

A very topical book. Very interesting style of writing with correlating narratives. Interesting how you can hate your own culture.

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1 person found this helpful