In this explosive and timely novel, T. C. Boyle explores an issue at the forefront of the political arena. He confronts the controversy over illegal immigration head-on, illuminating through a poignant, gripping story the people on both sides of the issue: the haves and the have-nots.
In Southern California’s Topanga Canyon, two couples live in close proximity and yet are worlds apart. High atop a hill overlooking the canyon, nature writer Delaney Mossbacher and his wife, real estate agent Kyra Menaker-Mossbacher, reside in an exclusive, secluded housing development with their son, Jordan. The Mossbachers are agnostic liberals with a passion for recycling and fitness.
Camped out in a ravine at the bottom of the canyon are Cándido and América Rincón, a Mexican couple who have crossed the border illegally. On the edge of starvation, they search desperately for work in the hope of moving into an apartment before their baby is born. They cling to their vision of the American dream, which, no matter how hard they try to achieve it, manages to elude their grasp at every turn.
A chance, violent encounter brings together Delaney and Cándido, instigating a chain of events that eventually culminates in a harrowing confrontation. The novel shifts back and forth between the two couples, giving voice to each of the four main characters as their lives become inextricably intertwined and their worlds collide.
The Rincóns’s search for the American dream and the Mossbachers’ attempts to protect it comprise the heart of the story. In scenes that are alternately comic, frightening, and satirical, but always all “too real,” Boyle confronts not only immigration but social consciousness, environmental awareness, crime, and unemployment in a tale that raises the curtain on the dark side of the American dream.
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"After this year's discovery of the long drug smuggling underground tunnel between Mexico and the USA, the very violent drug cartel wars of the border towns and cities, and my constant exposure to my fellow Mexican Paisanos for whom I do medical Interpretations, this book hit home in a way that few books do. It was an underbelly punch that had me gasping for air throughout the entire book and hoping for the best each time the parallel lives between the Gabachos and the Ilegales collided. If anything, this book is a fictitious account of a horrific reality that happens every day in this our USA. I applaud Mr. Boyle for writing such a gripping and real account of these two worlds. I recommend it highly and hope many more Americans read it and open their eyes to another way of looking at life and perhaps lend a hand to remedy the situation. 355 pgs."
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Saskia (4 out of 5 stars)