Cornelsen Senior English Library - Fiction: Ab 11. Schuljahr - The Tortilla Curtain: Textband mit Annotationen [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

The fictional novel 'The Tortilla Curtain', written by T.C. Boyle, was published in 1996 and deals with the American Dream and Immigration.
The story plays in L.A. California near the border to Mexico and it describes two different lives. On one hand there are Delaney and Kyra Mossbacher, who are US citizens and on the other hand there are Cándido and América Rincón, who are illegal immigrants. Life in Mexico is hard and the Rincóns are dreaming of a better life in the USA but it is not as easy as they think. They have to fight to survive and against prejudices.
Boyle wants to show the misunderstandings between these cultures and in my opinion he has succeeded because he gives good examples and you see both sides of the story and the different thoughts. The style is quite okay but sometimes there are too many details. Furthermore the Mexican's parts are more interesting than the Mossbacher's.
The book is worth reading for people, who are interested in politics and immigration and who are confronted with this topic.
All in all I like the novel, because you get a new feeling about this topic and most of it is interesting and even if you have to read it, it is not as bad as it may seem.

Ich musste das Buch auch für den Leistungskurs Englisch lesen und bin der Meinung, dass es super Material zum Thema "American Dream" ist.
Tatsächlich gibt es Stelle, die unnötig erscheinen, aber wenn man genau hinsieht, dann kann man selbst dort Dinge entdecken, die mit dem Thema zu tun haben.
Außerdem stecken so viele versteckte lustige Szenen in dem Buch, dass man es einfach mögen muss.
Ich denke, dass das Buch auch für andere Interessierte sehr spannend sein kann.

Aber gerade für den Englisch LK ist das Buch deswegen ein super Einstieg,weil es relativ verständlich und "einfach" geschrieben ist.

“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…” - From Tortilla Curtain, page 214

“Tortilla Curtain” is a novel, written by T.C Boyle, published in 1995 in California, USA. Although the book has been published some years ago, the story deals with current issues the United States have to face- it explores the difficulties of illegal immigration from Mexico to America.

Since World-War 2 Mexican people pass the Mexican-American border. Every year thousands of Latin Americans try to cross the barrier to start a new life in the USA. The refugees also called “los ilegales” are hoping to get the chance of leading a better, richer and fuller life in the USA, as the American Dream promises. They are desperately seeking for work and trying hard to improve their living standards. A lot of them have to pay for that dream with their lives.

T.C. Boyl’s novel “Tortilla Curtain” is about illegal immigration, social injustice and racism. The Story is set in the suburbs of Los Angeles, Topanga Creek, and told from two points of view. The white American typical middle-class couple Kyra and Delaney Mossbacher are embodying the traditional American Dream. They live with Kyra’s son and their two dogs in a secure, gated community and enjoy the pleasures of a wealthy life. The complete opposite is the illegal Mexican couple struggling to survive in the USA. Cándido Rincón and his pregnant 17 year-old wife América live near starvation camping in the bushes of the Canyon, constantly confronted with hazards and hardships. During the course of the novel the narrator switches between the two couples.
One day Delaney almost overruns Cándido with his car and the two worlds collide. This accident leads to a chain of even more dramatic events culminating in the end and resulting in tragic disaster…

Boyle has definitely created a story that serves to illustrate the current circumstances of illegal Mexicans trying to establish a new living in the USA. He manages to portray the sad reality that illegal immigrants have to cope with as well as the prosperous life of white Americans and their attitude towards the immigration issue.
All of his characters are shaped authentically and convincing and its easy to imagine oneself in his/hers position.

But has the book finally influenced my opinion about illegal immigration to the USA?
Boyle's heart-touching story makes the reader definitely rethink his/hers attitude towards the issue of illegal immigration.
Personally I wouldn’t say the novel has influenced my opinion in one way or the other, it rather gave me a profound insight into two completely different worlds. Nevertheless, it cannot be ignored how dreadful people interact when they are driven by xenophobia, hate and prejudices.