The title of Carlos Fuentes' The Crystal Frontier may seem on its
             surface quite difficult to understandâ€"how can a frontier, even the great
             American frontier, be crystal, even crystal-clear' The title refers to a
             crystal and beautiful office building cleaned by Mexican workers in one of
             the tales that make up the book, but the title also takes on a metaphorical
             significance beyond that of the story of the illegal, imported office
             workers. The title is a metaphor in fact, highlights the strangeness and
             uncertainty, the lack of clarity and the lies of the border between the
             United States and Mexico both in terms of geography (that is, in physical
             space) and in personal relationships that are at the heart of the book.
             Even the structure of the book is meant to challenge the reader's
             sense of reality. The nine short stories that make up the book are all
             interlinked loosely. They suggest that the true border between Mexico and
             the United States, which at times seems more like a fault line than a
             frontier is both elusive and ambiguous. The central thesis of this ``Novel
             in Nine Stories,'' if nine linked short stories may be said to have a
             central thesis or theme is that there will always be a tragic clash between
             the two cultures of Mexico and the United States, and that the economic and
             personal relationships of these two nations are ridden with lies.
             Fuentes focuses on the immigrant experience of Mexicans in America.
             The main connecting figure between all of the attempts at crossing the
             frontier is that of Leonardo Barroso. Barroso is a former government
             minister. Now Barroso lives near the border so many individuals seek to
             cross, seeking paradise. He is involved in the media, as he is an owner of
             an oppressive television assembly plant right across the river from El
             Paso, which many of the characters attempt to cross.
             Unlike his employees...