Sample
  • The Tortilla Curtain

  • By: T. C. Boyle
  • Narrated by: T. C. Boyle
  • Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (1,040 ratings)

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The Tortilla Curtain

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

Topanga Canyon is home to two couples on a collision course. Los Angeles liberals Delaney and Kyra Mossbacker lead an ordered, sushi-and-recycling existence in a newly gated hilltop community: He is a sensitive nature writer, she an obsessive realtor. Mexican illegals Candido and America Rincon desperately cling to their vision of the American Dream as they fight off starvation in a makeshift camp deep in the ravine.

From the moment a freak accident brings Candido and Delany into intimate contact, these four and their opposing worlds gradually intersect in what becomes a tragicomedy of error and misunderstanding.

Winner of the Prix Medicis Etranger and now a major motion picture.

©1995 T. Coraghessan Boyle (P)2006 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

  • Winner of Audio Publishers Association 2007 Audie Award, Narration by the Author or Authors
"A compelling story of myopic misunderstanding and mutual tragedy." ( Chicago Tribune)
"This highly engaging story subtly plays on our consciences, forcing us to form, confirm, or dispute social, political, and moral viewpoints....Boyle manages to address these issues in a nonjudgmental fashion, depicting the vast inequity in [the characters'] parallel existences. This is a profound and tragic tale." ( Booklist)
“This novel examines America's guerrilla war between the haves and have-nots with a zing unequalled since The Bonfire of the Vanities.” ( The Observer)

What listeners say about The Tortilla Curtain

Average customer ratings
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

not for me

t. c. Boyle is clearly a skilled writer, but I prefer books with more story and likeable characters. The white man was a hypocrite, and though the Mexican man has good character, the universe betrays him time and time again. The story is so miserable, I struggled to finish. if you like books like that, you'll love this one, as Boyle has a mastery of language

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Read this one!

Everyone should listen to this novel as it is an excellent review of our society right NOW!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent Story Telling

The internal conflict between the two stories and how they intersect is compelling. The narrator switched between very well and kept a consistent storytelling voice through out. Deals with supremacy while also maintains compassion and reality.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

review

wonderfully written, so interesting, I will suggest it to others issues sadly still relevent today

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Life sucks, then you die.

Kept waiting for something positive to happen. No chance. Depressing tale.
Characters never mature or progress.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I’d never read this

But was really thrilled to listen to the audiobook. Fantastic story and because it is read by the author, I finally learned how to pronounce the author’s middle name. Care-ah-ah-son !

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Buzz Shepard

a blameless faultless novel. it gets better as it progresses. good character development, well plotted.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant, powerful, brilliant

Great American contemporary literary fiction. A classic. And the narration is just as brilliant. This title and the author truly deserve the acclaim and awards they won.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Real stories. Hard to read

Brilliantly written this has been one of the hardest books for me to read. Often I thought the racism, the thoughts of these characters are unrealistic. I reminded myself, sadly this is more than typical. A fantastic tale of two sides and understanding different people. But yes, filled with hatred and hard to get though. An important book nonetheless.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Dirt poor pain and suffering Wealthy unhappy peopl

How sad to be filthy rich, depressed and resentful of dirt poor immigrants struggling to just exist.

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