The Tortilla Curtain (1995) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters/People edit see section history

• Delaney Mossbacher: A liberal humanist with an unblemished driving record and a freshly waxed Japanese car with personalized plates. An idealistic dreamer until he is brought to earth by a series of unfortunate events. I don't know if he ever actually confronts the dark side of his humanism.
• Candido: An illegal immigrant who dreams the american dream. He has several successes in the US so he continues to go back and forth between Mexico and the US. This time, not only is the work sparse but several tragiic events occur.
• America: Candido's young pregnant wife with an appropriate name. Naiive child-bride with little to contribute except heart.
• Kyra Mossbacher: Delaney's wife; a real-estate agent.
• Jordan Mossbacher: Child of Kyra and Delaney

Quotes edit see section history

• “Many of the quotes are hard to remember, but one was by Kyra and it said"We need to get rid of the people here because it looks bad on our streets and I'm trying to make this place look better"”

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• The coyote is not to blame—he is only trying to survive, to make a living, to take advantage of the opportunities available to him.

  Highlighted by 58 Kindle customers

• The coyotes keep coming, breeding up to fill in the gaps, moving in where the living is easy. They are cunning, versatile, hungry and unstoppable.

  Highlighted by 55 Kindle customers

• The ones coming in through the Tortilla Curtain down there, those are the ones that are killing us.

  Highlighted by 47 Kindle customers

• We were all right in America, sure, but it was crazy to think you could detach yourself from the rest of the world, the world of starvation and loss and the steady relentless degradation of the environment.

  Highlighted by 38 Kindle customers

• They lived in their glass palaces, with their gates and fences and security systems, they left half-eaten lobsters and beefsteaks on their plates when the rest of the world was starving, spent enough to feed and clothe a whole country on their exercise equipment, their swimming pools and tennis courts and jogging shoes, and all of them, even the poorest, had two cars. Where was the justice in that?

  Highlighted by 36 Kindle customers

• It was the Mexican way: acquiesce, accept. Things would change, sure they would, but only if God willed it.

  Highlighted by 32 Kindle customers

• “This isn’t about coyotes, don’t kid yourself. It’s about Mexicans, it’s about blacks. It’s about exclusion, division, hate. You think Jack gives a damn about coyotes?”

  Highlighted by 29 Kindle customers

• They were both perfectionists, for one thing. They abhorred clutter. They were joggers, nonsmokers, social drinkers, and if not full-blown vegetarians, people who were conscious of their intake of animal fats. Their memberships included the Sierra Club, Save the Children, the National Wildlife Federation and the Democratic Party. They preferred the contemporary look to Early American or kitsch. In religious matters, they were agnostic.

  Highlighted by 27 Kindle customers

• “What do you expect,” he’d said, “when all you bleeding hearts want to invite the whole world in here to feed at our trough without a thought as to who’s going to pay for it, as if the American taxpayer was like Jesus Christ with his loaves and fishes.

  Highlighted by 26 Kindle customers

• He couldn’t go back to Mexico, a country with forty percent unemployment and a million people a year entering the labor force, a country that was corrupt and bankrupt and so pinched by inflation that the farmers were burning their crops and nobody but the rich had enough to eat.

  Highlighted by 25 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Arroyo Blanco Estates: An upscale housing development in Southern California
• The End of a Canyon: Where America and Candido camp

Organizations edit see section history

• Arroyo Blanco Neighborhood Association: In charge of such things as installing gates and building walls.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• Chop Shop: A very low level garage in which people take in stolen cars take them apart and sell the parts to strangers for cheap prices.

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Racism: In this book it's a big deal there is Racism on almost every page. Delaney is kinda racist towards the immigration problem. Even Candido is Racist towards white people for being so successful and not giving him a chance to be.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. T. Coraghessan Boyle (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Prix Medicis Etranger

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PS3552.O932 T67 1995
• Dewey: 813.54

Notes for Parents edit see section history

This book is not really meant for kids, but let them grow up a bit and then let them have a look at it. I would recommend this to the parents since it's a very interesting story so far, and you guys could really learn a lot from this book.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › Authors, A-Z › ( B ) › Boyle, T.C.
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• amazon.com

More Books Like This edit see section history

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history