The Tortilla Curtain, T. C. Boyle (3.0)
While I found this to be a very well written book, I did
not enjoy reading it. Unfortunately the topic is as relevant (and painful)
today as it was in the 90’s when it was written. The chapters follow various
diverse characters existing (it’s hard to call it living, in some cases) in the
same area of suburban LA. You have the relatively wealthy families who are
moving out of the expensive LA basin into the larger yards and ‘nature’ of the
canyon areas. They haven’t moved as far as the Valley (heaven forbid), but they
admit they are avoiding the undesirable element that is taking over much of the
affordable areas in the basin. Unfortunately for them, those same undesirables
are the people who will do manual labor in their neighborhoods for next to
nothing. So you also get to see the parallel existence of an illegal Mexican
who has crossed the Tortilla Curtain and has brought his pregnant wife up to LA
for a better life. I found the characters to be familiar and believable –
though I was constantly wondering ‘is this really a better life?’ It certainly
doesn’t appear to be. Mr. Boyle makes the dangers and inconsistencies of the
day-to-day life of the Mexican family clear and heartbreaking. Three-quarters
of the way through you ask yourself ‘can they take anymore of this bad luck?
and unfortunately they will. Important, but hard to read.
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