Tortilla Curtain, T. C. Boyle (Viking, 1995) ***

This novel deals with the issue of illegal immigrants in southern California. The story is told from two viewpoints, that of a young Mexican peasant laborer and his even younger, and pregnant common law wife; and from the point of view of a liberal, yuppie couple who have moved to a new and expensive neighborhood in the outer suburbs of LA to escape the problems associated with living in that sprawling city. An auto accident entangles their lives and greatly complicates the existence of both couples. Boyle masterfully describes the frustrating struggle to just survive (and the terrors many illegal immigrants face) while seeking a higher standard of living on the part of the young Mexican couple, and the difficult struggle of the yuppie couple to maintain their liberal ideals in the face of the increasing problems posed by illegal immigrants in their neighborhood. Neither struggle produced victors, but the problems each couple had to cope with engendered a practical wisdom which comes from confronting problems too large for any one individual or family to solve. Boyle generally avoided taking sides in this issue, but he has succeeded in showing the reader both sides.