Instead of television last week,the city of Agoura Hillswas tuned into the joy of reading as it launchedOne City, One Book, a community reading event. "It was a wonderful week of reading for us," said Mayor Dan Kuperberg who organized the city's involvement in the national program, "it had those involved, including our students, discussing world politics and particularly immigration issues." The City of Agoura Hills invited PEN/Faulkner recipient author T.C. Boyle to launch its community book club to tie in Agoura High School's Honors English required reading of his book on immigration, Tortilla Curtain.

Boyle spoke in front of a crowd of nearly 200 participants that included students, residents and fans--some driving as long as two hours--and former students of Boyle, who has taught a writing course at the University of California since 1973.

"I really enjoy community reads and what a great location for one," Boyle told his audience atthe Reyes Adobe Historical Site where the event was held. "People watch movies and listen to CDs together but it's not often that we read and discuss the same book at one time. It's a great experience, particularly when the book is controversial like Tortilla Curtain." Boyle wrote the book in 1995 after the immigration debate of 1993,which has once again becomea topic of debate. Boyle described his satirical tale, inspired by John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, as portraying both sides of the issue: "life from a blanket living in the bottom of Topanga Canyon and life from a nearby multimillion dollar estate." Tortilla Curtain has become required reading in schools around the world including Germany and Israel. It is also slated to become a Hollywood production.

When personally meeting the author, Honors English teacher Deborah Frank told Boyle that her 11th grade students were very excited to meet him but a little tongue-tied. "They're not used toreading and meeting a living author in English class."

For more information about Agoura Hills' One City, One Book literary program, contact Nathan Hamburger at (818) 597-7308.