Bless Me, Ultima

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: An amazing story about a boy who faces questions of his life and confronts his fears. Granted it's not the most original plot ever it is still a masterpiece. Credit is due here for the way it keeps you coming back for more. It questions religion in an age were religion preaches with an iron fist and doesn't let you ask think for yourself at all. Then again everything is like that. I don't know why anyone wouldn't like this book. This is a book that has to be read by everyone. Give it a try it's only a few bucks.

Rating:
Summary: bless me ultima
Review: i want to know about the golden carp and the catholicism with ton

Rating:
Summary: most amazing book
Review: This is my all-time favorite book. I re-read it every year and I feel the same strong emotions each time. It has something for everyone: crazy antics of 7 year old boys, in-depth discussion of religion, a touching relationship between a young boy and his grandmotherly mentor, supernatural events. I could go on but you just have to pick it up and read it for yourself. By the way, I teach Spanish and my students read it each semester, and 95% of them love it (I think the other 5% never actually read it.)

Rating:
Summary: Just can't seem to put it down...
Review: There was somewhat of a heated debate at the school that I work at about Bless Me, Ultima. The English department wasn't sure if it should be on the reading list. I decided to see what all the commotion was about. I began reading it one day and I just couldn't seem to put it down. Anaya had me in the first sentence! The language used is eloquent and beautiful. The only real criticism I have is that I don't know Spanish so some of the lines are hard to understand. I also feel that the Spanish helps to enrich the book so it really is not all bad. The school decided to use the book and I am certainly glad that they did because there are so many great themes to be explored. I would definitely recommend this book if you are not sure about buying it!

Rating:
Summary: Excelente!
Review: Es un buen libro, ya que te deja con la duda durante todo el libro y te da todas las soluciones al final!

Rating:
Summary: A cultural struggle
Review: Without a doubt, this novel has had the most lasting effect on my life, more than anything I have read. It is an enchanting story of Tony's coming-of-age in conflicting environments. His struggles with his surroundings and his attempts to reconcile the facets of his culture are truly beautiful. Anaya writes with lyricism and poetry.

Rating:
Summary: Very boring.
Review: In my ninth grade English class we have read this book. No one in the class enjoyed it. The dreams that Antonio has are strange and the writing is very bland, not to mention confusing before class discussion. I could not help being bored during this book. I would dread picking it up and reading for homework. I did not enjoy this book at all, Im sure many others will agree. It is not what I call a "masterpiece" thank you.

Rating:
Summary: Symbolic, poetic writing and strong storyline
Review: We read this book in our eighth grade English class, and we have all fallen in love with it. Anaya writes picturesquely about the story of a young boy struggling to define himself. He faces many barriers on this road; his mothers expectations, the path his brothers chose, his fathers dreams. Throughout his journey he is accompanied by Ultima, an elderly woman who knows the secrets of herb healing and of life. Under her guidance Antonio learns many valuable lessons about life, religion, and the human race.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Chicano bildungsroman with conflict as its motif.
Review: Bless me, is a story about the coming of age of a young mexican-american kid who is internally torn by the choices that he has to make throughout his life. Anaya portrays the conflict in a very vivid way that makes the reader more aware of the chicano society in 1940's New Mexico. This is an excellent book for those people that have ever quetion their own religion and destiny.

Rating:
Summary: Strong most of the way through, but a flat end
Review: I fell in love with this book when I began it, it has a beautiful rhythm, is very realistic, has wonderful accents of Hispanic culture, and really takes you to a vivid, alive world that is set in the US but feels like another world. As far as plot, this is mostly a psychological and philosophical story; don't expect a lot of action though there is a fair share of it. But thing that bothered me the most is the glorification of paganism combined with the degredation of Christianity. I am not overly squeamish about reading literature that does not believe the way I do, but in this book it was excessive. I got sick of seeing the Christians and the Christian faith shown as being empty, fruitless and inadequate. Had there not been this much blasphemy (several examples in nearly every chapter) I would have given this novel a four or quite possibly a five. Other than the religious aspect, the only other problem is that the ending chapters are weak and unsatisfying. This is overall a decent novel, but certainly not a "masterpiece".