Bless Me, Ultima

Rating:
Summary: Good, but boring at some points
Review: In the beginning, I didn't find 'Bless Me, Ultima' interesting at all. But as the story went on, the characters developed, and I started to understand what was really going on. From mid-way until the end, the book was very good, and I liked the way symbolism showed the way in the story.

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Summary: Mexican-American writer with great topics,religon/culture.
Review: This is a great and unique book design for people with an open mind. Anaya is a writer who in his writing uses his native language along with the English language, which makes it unique from all the other books. Bless Me, Ultima, doesn't only emphazise on the topics of culture and religion; however, it also makes one ponder on those mysterious situations that we encounter in our everyday life. Anaya, makes one want to be a child again, with his funny (yet interresting) experiences,and his great use of language, and imagery. Defenetly, my favorite book!!

Rating:
Summary: Good, but far from great...
Review: OK, I was forced to read Bless Me Ultima by my AP english teacher. While I found it to be a good book and certainly worth reading, I found Anaya's preoccupation with intertwining chicano culture into the novel very bland. Also, much of the diction is trite. For example, Antonio repeatedly tells us "...my soul felt sick..." or "...my soul felt sad...". The effect would have been greater if Anaya had forced us to see how Antonio felt rather than tell us straight out. The use of a religious/spiritual theme saves this book by making us ask ourselves the same questions that Antonio asks himself.

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Summary: Great heartwarming tale of a young boy's coming of age
Review: This novel was wonderfully illustrating of life on the llano. The young voice of the story, Antonio shows the struggles he encounters around every turn as he "grows into a man" I thoroughly enjoyed every second of this book. Antonio's coming of age is definitely something that grabs you and won't let you go. His life is permeated by catholicism, curanderismo and pagan beliefs of his ancestors.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books i've ever red.
Review: Rodolfo Anaya really brings character to the book. It's a non-stop action thriller brought to a book. It shows you the compassion of a women and the fierceness of an evil man. Tony is faced with so many things that most of us will never encounter in our life. You must read this book to find out what it is to find a special person to help you out as you grow up.

Rating:
Summary: This is a down to earth and true to life book!
Review: this is a truely wonderful book. Anaya displays the Hispanic culture wonderfuly. Antonio is a young hispanic boy that lives in New Mexico. Antonio has meny enteresting conflicts that take place during the book. One of the major conflicts was between him and his parents over what he is supose to do with his life. His mother wants him to be a piest, and his father wants him to live off of the land like his family did. One day an old woman named Ultima came to live her last few months with Antonio and his family. Ultima takes Antonio under her wing and shows him the ways of the curanderas. She teaches him about herbs and the spirits of the earth. she is the only person that knows what Antonio will become. All during this time he is having trouble with his faith in God. If you have not read this book it is a must read, if you have read it again!!!

Rating:
Summary: Might Displace Huck Finn as the American Coming of Age Story
Review: This is Rudolfo Anaya's account of a young New Mexico boy's spiritual growth from a childish state in which he expects a miraculous revelation to emerge from one or more of the several cutlures from which he has emerged. He is pulled and tugged between his father, a llanero whose lifestyle is already dying and his mother, whose family are farmers named Luna and who have the strength of those who can bring life from the land. His mother's family is descended from the first priest in the region--something his father warns him they don't like to talk about. Tony, the protagonist, also must struggle to emerge from the conflict between his Hispanic cultures and the larger culture outside his small town--a struggle his brothers are losing in their return from World War II. The struggle also leads him to explore the local Native lore of the Magic Carp. Tony's understanding that everyone struggles all their life for answers emerges under the tutelage of his grandmother, the strong but gentle Ultima, a traditional curnadera. He comes to realize that life is a struggle for meaning and that understanding comes from that struggle--not from a miraculous inspiration. This story is a great one for young or old. I really feel sorry for the ninth grade reviewer who obviously missed the boat--perhaps because of a lack of understanding of what maturity actually is.

Rating:
Summary: Thank God it didn't go on forever
Review: I really wish that I got as much out of this book that the other people who reviewed it did. I think it's great that a lot of people liked this book, I just don't care for it. The book to me simply repeats the main character's thoughts over and over again. It seems like there is no starting point or end to "Bless me, Utima", it's just a middle. Tony's questions about God and faith and life are never answered. I guess this was the author's way of leaving you the reader to think about these questions yourself, but since Tony was the main character, I think that he should have thought about the questions more. The main character usually "grows" as the story goes on, but I saw no growth in Tony, I actually think he immatured by the "end" of the book. The only good part of this book are the parts about the culture of the people, but it hardly saves the story. I had to read this book for the 9th grade, and I don't think you should read it unless you have to. Even if you "have to", try not to. You only have one life, don't waste part of it by reading "Bless me, Utima".

Rating:
Summary: You have to read this book.
Review: I thought that this book was wonderful. You get so involved in the book that you begin to question your life, as the main character does. I think that this book is a must read. It is beautifully written and has a powerful plot.

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Summary: fantastically fun fiction of remembered youth
Review: "Sometime in the future I would have to build my own dream out of those things that were so much a part of my childhood."--Rudolfo Anaya Rudolfo Anaya, storyteller extra ordinaire, has cleverly pieced together those "thousand fragments of memory flitting through [his] mind" to create a rather unique American novel. This enchanting tale lends all of us a stronger understanding of the spiritualism and humor that is present in Chicano culture. With brujas and withchcraft, mystery and murder, curanderas and owls, the magic of this masterpiece sets it apart from any other. The reader is immediately drawn in to the story by Anaya's warm descriptions of el llano y la raza, the land and the people, of New Mexico: "She took my hand, and the silent, magic powers she possessed made beauty from the raw, sunbaked llano, the green river valley, and the blue bowl which was the white sun's home. My bare feet felt the throbbing earth and my body trembled with excitement. Time stood still, and it shared with me all that had been, and all that was to come..." Anaya's story is revealed through the eyes of an innocent child of seven, Antonio, who has become lost in this "labyrinth of time and history undiscovered" with the destination of manhood and "ultimate" understanding. He struggles to find his own identity searching the magical hills of the llano, the dominant presence of the river, and the mystical powers of his dreams. It is here that the answers exist, somewhere among Ultima's wisdom, his mother's dreams, and his father's rebellion: "I waited, then said. 'Now we have come to live near the river, and yet near the llano. I love them both, and yet I am of neither. I wonder which life i will choose?" The answers to life's mysteries only seem to come with each new experience Antonio encounters, and Anaya makes each new experience one of entertainment and interest: "The lights moved in all directions, but they couldn't find him. Some of the lights swept over me and I trembled with fear that I would be found out, or worse, that I would be mistaken for Lupito and shot. Many shots found their mark." Under Ultima's careful guidance Antonio's soul blossoms as he discovers who he is in all that is good and strong and beautiful. He learns to take life's experiences and build strength from them and to depend on the magical strength that resides in the human heart. It is as Antonio begins to run with new resolution that the journey to manhood can be complete, when he runs "to preserve those moments when beauty mingled with sadness and flowed through [his] soul like the stream of time." Anaya offers a more realistic interpretation with his dynamic protagonist and fluid test as opposed to most folkloric material dependant on the static myths told time and again. This is perhaps one of the most engaging novels I have read. Anaya has recaptured that childhood spirit that resides in all of us and has portrayed it beautifully throughout this fiction of remembered youth.