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4 Formats: CD
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4 Formats: Library CD
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4 Formats: MP3 CD
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4 Formats: Playaway
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ISBN: 9780786174263
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ISBN: 9780786168286
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ISBN: 9780786177639
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ISBN: 9781433269141
Runtime: | 11.79 Hours |
Category: | Fiction/Literary |
Audience: | Adult |
Language: | English |
Summary
Summary
Winner of the 1997 Prix Médicis Étranger Literary Award
Winner of the Audie Award for Best Narration by the Author
Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
In this explosive and timely novel, T. C. Boyle explores an issue that is 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’ 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.
Editorial Reviews
Editorial Reviews
Details
Details
Available Formats : | CD, Library CD, MP3 CD, Playaway |
Category: | Fiction/Literary |
Runtime: | 11.79 |
Audience: | Adult |
Language: | English |
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