Rating: 
Summary: Bless Me Altima
Review: I recommened this book for the reason that, it is about a little boy named Antonio Marez and he is six years old. The book is about how he struggles in life and his beleifes in God. For example, most of the people that he finaly gets close to ends up either leaving or dieing. So i would recommened this book to a lot of spanis speaking people, because it informs you of a lot of spanish information.
Rating: 
Summary: Probing, but a bit too...
Review: "Bless Me, Ultima" was very different than any book I have read recently, but I think it was a little too unrealistic to be truly a great novel. There was too much mysticisim, too many symbolic dreams, and too many people caught up in "curses" for my liking. I did like the fact that Antonio was asking several key questions that we all ask eventually, but he was only six or seven when the book began; way too young in my opinion to be asking those questions. Whatever happened to a carefree childhood?
I did appreciate the different angles that were explored: modernization versus Old World values, apostolic faith versus idolatry, finding your own path while staying true to your roots... All the same, I still found it really unrealistic that so many people would get involved with the superstitious/curse factor, considering they were so faithful. I thought the most believeable character was the boy who didn't believe in God, because he had experience and situations enough to back up his anger. His question of,"If there is a God, why would he have all of these terrible things happen to me?" was one of the most probing of all questions, and I enjoyed the way it conflicted with Antonio's plight.
There is a good deal of symbolism in this book; just look at the dreams for proof enough. Additionly, many things happen in threes: 3 sons, 3 deaths, 3 wicked sisters, the 3 paths for Antonio,3 different religious views...perhaps all relating to the Holy Trinity.
I would say that it is worthwhile to experience Anaya's work; it certainly provides a different perspective, even if it is a little too unbelieveable.(Remember the owl?? I love imagination, but...)
Rating: 
Summary: No words can utter...
Review: BAsically...No words can utter the feelings I have for this book. I read this last year for Sophmore English and I could seriously read it over and over. There is so much adventure and conflict. I actually stayed up late at night to read it...and when i was done before the class...read it again! There is Spanish sprinkled throughout the book. Some may complain about not understanding, but I am not a Spanish speaker and I liked the Spanish in the book. It added a more native feeling to it. YOu sorta understood what he was saying without actually understanding the words. I found it fun looking up what it meant in a dictionary. Anyways, thats just me...but i HIGHLY recommend this book!
Rating: 
Summary: badnews
Review: there is no adjective in the english language to describe the horrors of reading this "book". PLEASE, don't fall victim to reading this atrocity.
Rating:
Summary: Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima is an Emotional Symbolic Work
Review: The religious and spiritual symbolism in Anaya's book, Bless Me, Ultima blend beautifully with the powerfully described New Mexican setting and culture that surround the novel's main charatcer, Antonio, and place him at the center of a series of thematic struggles including the classic struggle of good vs. evil, the difficult decision of choosing between one's apparent destiny and giving in to one's choices, and the intense discovery and formation of alternate beliefs in a higher being.
Anaya places Antonio in a Catholic household of Mexican descent in the rural setting of Las Pastures, New Mexico; illustrating the natural beauty and land-based lifestyle that Antonio grows up knowing. Tony's mother is a faithful and passionate Catholic, believing in the imporatance of direct prayer to God and the adoration of the Virgin Mary. She sees and feels the holyness that surrounds Tony's being from his birth, and raises him in hopes that he will some day become a priest. The characterization of Tony's father provides a nice contrast that lends an insight into the formation of Tony. His father is a man of the land, using it respectfully and living in symbiance with it to ensure the heathly lifespans of both his family, and his family's land or llano. The contrast in Tony's parental upbringing sets the stage for his future conflicts concerning the true existance of a God, and the reasons for the existance of good and evil that he witnesses in life.
Symbolism is a cetral tool that Anaya uses to artistically convey Tony's journey and his discoveries, amazments, and disappointments along the way. Perhaps most finely crafted is Anaya's creation of the golden carp, used to represent the startling effect of peace and joy that Tony feels after discovering its existance. The golden carp itself is a symbol of an alternate idol of worship besides the Christian God that Tony had grown to believe in through the teachings he recives at home, school, and at church. The fact that Tony is willing to belive in the golden carp's existance, as he is both amazed and mystified by its beauty, is made to appear especially surprising through the description is the things that Tony is denying in order give into the peace and happines he feels in the golden carp.
At one point, Tony is at sunday school at church, and the priest is describing to the students the concept of an eternity. An eternity, he proceeds to explain, is the amount of time it would take a bird to pick up every grain of sand on a beach, one by one, and fly it across the pacific ocean to deposit on a shore in Japan. And then, when the entire beach has been transported, he does it again, and brings every grain to the other side, a million times. That's how long an eternity is, and that's how long you will stay in heaven or in hell. This concept frightened me like a week ago, I can imagine how it might affect an eleven year old boy. Yet, the beauty of the golden carp, and the balance that it's existance creates within Tony is more than enough to allow him to betray the doctrine he has been taught to believe in and risk finding out the hard way exactly how long an eternity is.
The book's symbolism is far deeper than what I can describe in this review, and it includes themes like free will vs. destiny that I have not mentioned. Overall I can say it is a beautifully written book, with easy to recognize parallels to the inner-turnmoil of the reader, and I recommend reading it at least twice to truly appreciate the ideas and messages conveyed in Anaya's novel.
Rating:
Summary: The Father of Chicano Writers! Rudolfo Anaya
Review: I heard this book was one of the top 20 books to read before you got out of college. I took my MEChA advisor's advice and read this book, since it was the only one written by a Chicano Author in the big list. This books is about Ultima, and she comes to live with the family. Ultima is a curandera who knows the fathe of the youngest child, when one of the parent's thinks he will be a priest, and when the other parent thinks he will be a guy who lives in the llano. Ultima teaches the kid a lot about life itself. If your a Chicano Student and haven't read this book, your missing out!!
Rating:
Summary: A very interesting and different book
Review: this was a very good book. i was different than most books i have read. the book doesn't quite grab you at the begining, but as you get into it, the book picks up and it becomes a very enjoyable book. it is very magical and mistical.
Rating:
Summary: interesting culture and spritiual
Review: Bless Me Ultima was something new to me. I learn allot about the culture and background about Spanish culture and religion. It is a very spiritual book about a 7 year-old (Antonio) journey of growing in the town of El Puerto. He is then rejoiced and joined by the goodness of Ultima. Ultima in the story plays as his guider and mentor about his beliefs and life in his environment. As a little kid growing up he has allot of questions and is very curious about his beliefs. Throughout the novel he tries to find himself, comes across many decisions that effects the way he is. He encounters many people and many deaths (this is too much for a little boy) but still these occurrences help him through his way of being a man. He tries seeing points of view and contrasting what's good and bad. He is influenced by people and sees the actions of other people; as Ultima symbolizes good and Tenorio as evil. He becomes in touch with internal conflicts of what to do with his life, since his parents want two separate things they want him to be. I recommend this book for anyone who trying to understand how things are because you may relate to it. Many times in life we don't see the good or bad side and we go through life questioning why things happen to you; this book it will keep you in touch with your spirituality.
Rating:
Summary: Not the best but...
Review: This book was very informative about growing up in an Mexican-American culture which is I think why it was so highly rated because it really elaborates on subjects such as: spirituality, organized religion, respect for elders, etc. Honestly this is not my genre of choice but if you are looking for a real inside look on chicano culture this book really puts you in the place of the main character (Antonio Marez).Antonio is a young chicano boy who is growing up in New Mexico during the time of the end/after WWII and how he copes with the pressure of pleasing the different families he comes from. This book really tells how different the chicano families can be. Antonio's father Gabriel is from the Marez family who has a wild history and is known for having cowboys in the family. Antonio's mother Maria comes from the Luna family which are known to be calm farmers (very Catholic). Antonio is the last hope for following the traditions in either family because his brothers have gone to war and chose different paths straying away from both cowboy, farmer, and preist. Antonio is finally led to his answer by the elderly curandera Ultima that comes to live with him. Bless Me Ultima had great symbolism and was well written but is just not my type of book.
Rating:
Summary: Review
Review: Bless me, Ulyima was like book like I have never read, it started off slow and gradually got more exciting. I had two opinions toward the book, one is positive and one is negitive. I liked this book because Antonio was like myself as a child. He is a small kid who is trying to find the truth of his faith. This cahracter was not perfect like most characters, but he portrayed as an innocent little boy. He was a sneaky little child who followed his father everywhere and got into fights at school. THe side of the book I disliked was the way he potrayed the Catholic Church. It seemed like there were cuss words than any other book I have ever read. I thingk he showed many bad sides of the Catholic Church including the way we pray. I don't think I would read another book by Rudolfo Anaya because it was very confusing getting into the novel. I also would read his work because of the cuss words. I would rate this book as a 3 star because of my conflicting opinions on the book.
|
