Bless Me, Ultima

Rating:
Summary: What a dumb boring book.
Review: Bless Me Ultima was a book we had to read for our English class. Overall I did not like the book. It had a good plot but not an entertaining one. The book was pretty boring. It had many climaxes and kept you wondering whether or not the book was over. The book didn't concentrate on one single theme or purpose. It had many themes which made it a little confusing to find the point of the book. The book was partially written in Spanish which made it a little confusing cause I don't know a lot of Spanish. It also changed the names of the characters between the American and Spanish names. The content of Spanish did help a little with the setting and the culture of the people. The book had action, magic, family, witches, and lots of other stuff. The book was mainly about life. Conflicts in life, with out people, your religion, and yourself. It had fighting, loss of life and problems. THe book also had a lot of swearing, a lot of it in Spanish. Between the climaxes the book was boring but at the climaxes it got a little interesting, but the ending wasn't very good. She died, and that was all. The plot was good overall but its not a book that I was really into. I would choose not to read this book if I had a choice.

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Summary: ¿ ..has catchy story ideas.. ¿
Review: In my English II class we had just finished reading the novel, Bless Me Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya. Although it seemed that many of my classmates despised reading the story due to numerous reasons, I was fortunately one who enjoyed reading it. It is basically about Antonio, a young boy, coming-of-age who goes through life with many concepts about what he is going to be when he grows up, what religion to follow, or which of his parent's dreams to carry out. Along with his trials and tribulations, he has Ultima to guide and advise him in his difficult times and provides him with her acquired knowledge and wisdom to have courage to overcome his own ordeals in life. In general, I liked the idea of this piece. However, I felt that Anaya could've written the story so that the plot progressed just a bit faster because personally, I despised having to think too much of what was to unfold in the upcoming events. I did in fact find the religion idea of the story interesting because I myself can relate to his obligations of what to believe in. The obligation of worshipping the Golden Carp was quite crazy but I found it a creative sense in the writing. Overall , I felt the book has touched me somewhat, and made me think about things that relate to my own life as I read the story. I would recommend this book to a friend who likes Spanish-related pieces or enjoys a suspenseful story and would like to take the time to read this.

Rating:
Summary: ...
Review: "Bless Me, Ultima" a novel by Rudolfo Anaya was a book that aroused very little emotions in me. I read it, did the work, took the test. that was all. I searched for things in the book that would hint to read another of Anaya's book, but nothing came up. Don't get me wrong, the book was pretty enjoyable, a little slow moving, but decent none the less.

The characters were brilliant and the story line was amazing. Anaya also did a good job of portraying the life of a Chincano family and community at the end of WWII.

The way that Anaya describes the llano and the spirits of all the things around Antonio, the main character, is beautiful. Anaya is such a descriptive writer. I could practically see and smell the cure that Ultima, Antonio’s best friend and a cuarndero, was conjecturing up for Uncle Lucas. I could feel the icy cold swirl around me as Antonio was walking home in the storm after the Christmas play.

One thing that bothered me about this story was the large amount of religion used/talked about in the book. I have nothing against any religion, but he used so much of it. The one thing I enjoyed about the religion of the story, was Antonio’s constant inner conflicts between the catholic religion and the pagan religions. I loved the story of the Golden Carp, it was a nice, offbeat addition to the story.

The thing that bothered me most about the story was the fact that Antonio was only six. I got so distracted by that. I would read about the conflicts he was going through, and I couldn’t fully digest them because all I kept thinking was, this kid is only six. I know when I was six, I wasn’t seriously thinking about what I wanted to be. I don’t know any six year old that was.

Overall the book was decent. For the most part the characters were totally believable and the plot was in a good order. I wouldn’t really recommend the book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Reflections on Bless Me, Ultima
Review: I thought that Bless Me, Ultima, is a book written for high school level readers. The book contained several parts where the author used graphic language that would be inappropriate for younger readers, and they would curse in Spanish and in English. I think that the book had a strong plot, and there were points where the book was drab such as the beginning where it told about where they lived, and other parts where the book was very entertaining such as the part where Ultima cured Lucas. I think that his portrayal of Antonio as a little child was very good because little children are those who are still trying to figure out what is true and where they want to go.

I think that I would read other books written by Rudolfo Anaya because I thought that this was one book that really entertained me. My first impression of the book was it was boring and a waste of paper to write about just by reading the back, but after reading the book itself, I thought otherwise. The many deaths and actions done by certain characters made this book very good. I think that if there was no violence in this book, I wouldn't have thought this book was good. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy reading about the journey of life. Though many of us don't have the extremes of seeing death before our eyes, we face death everyday.

I would rate this book a four out of five because I thought that it was one of the greatest books written that I have read. I have never read a book of this type, but after reading Bless Me Ultima, I am considering reading these types of books more often. I do think that this book should become a movie due to the fact that there was much action occurring through the book. Basically, I thought that Bless Me Ultima was a very well written book.

Rating:
Summary: In general, a good story
Review: Overall, Bless Me, Ultima was a good story. However, the heavy use of Spanish annoyed me quite a bit. It also led me to believe that the author, Rudolfo Anaya, was too proud of his heritage. This man found ways to incorporate Spanish into the story when it was absolutely unnecessary, and in my opinion, uncalled for. This novel was my academic level, yet I constantly had to refer to the Spanish translations. After the first few chapters, I gave up trying to read anything in Spanish.

However, the best part of the novel was the controversial issues on religion. Hoping his first communion would bring him the answers to why good people die and evil people go unpunished, Antonio is disappointed to learn that it does not. His unanswered questions lead him to doubt the Catholic religion and consider another faith. Reading about his struggle was interesting and easy to relate to.

Others who might also be able to relate to this novel or enjoy it, is one who understands Spanish and is willing to be enlightened on different insights about religion.

Rating:
Summary: Not the best book, ever....
Review: The book, Bless Me, Ultima written by Rudolfo Anaya is a story of a young boy, Antonio, who lives in the outskirts of a town called Las Pasturas in New Mexico. The story starts to unfold when Ultima, la curandera, a women who cures with herbs and magic comes to live with Antonio's family. Antonio is taught to understand people and their ways by the wise Ultima as well as her magic which is sacred. Throughout the novel Antonio recounts his fears, aspirations, and hopes as we live his life in the eyes of a six year old boy, who is wise beyond his years.
I would not consider reading any of Rudolfo Anaya's books because his novel, Bless Me, Ultima did not catch my interest. The plot took too long to unfold and was not exciting to my expectations. I would not recommend his books to any of my friends because they are not interested in the way he tells the story or the story itself-it is a little on the old-fashioned side. Anaya wrote the book well and used wonderful literary elements to understand the book from different perspectives, but it was not my type of literature.
This book should not be a movie because people would leave in the beginning , the plot takes to long to unfold and to catch the audiences interest. Overall the story was not great, if you have nothing better to do, then read it.

Rating:
Summary: Review-Revised on Bless Me Ultima
Review: We just finished reading Bless Me Ultima in our English II class, and I can honestly say that I am glad. Rudolfo Anaya's portrayal of a young boy trying to choose the right path in life is quite amusing. Most people would probably agree with me when I say that there are not many seven year old boys who are seriously thinking about choosing to be what their mother wants them to be, or choosing to be what their father wants them to be. Children think about playing in trees or in the dirt; not becoming a priest or a vaquero.
The dreams that young Antonio experiences are closer to visions of the future, than real dreams. He sees himself and his brothers near the river. He also sees himself going with his brothers to a whore house. The boring and meaningless dreams get longer and longer as the book progresses.
The action actually picks up in the book about fifteen pages from the end. This pointless book carries on for chapters at a time and I do not suggest reading it unless you can handle the constant descriptions of vomit and urine.

Rating:
Summary: A story of continuous action and suspense.
Review: Bless Me Ultima was an interesting book. It had quite a few unexpected twists and turns, which made the story even more exciting to read. Rudolfo Anaya did a ton of research, both on New Mexico and about growing up in New Mexico. Rudolfo did a little bit of basic research on witchcraft as well, but not a lot of it. It was just enough to make the story flow and be believable at the same time.

Rudolfo's novel was a gripping story about how a young boy, Antonio, had to get along with a few situations, which we would hope wouldn't happen to us. He has to deal with witchcraft and fights which matched the good and evil's wits against each other. There was much bloodshed and death that this poor little boy had to get through, and throughout most of the story he was only in first grade!

Bless Me Ultima was chalk-full of symbolism. One really good technique that Anaya portrays while writing Bless Me Ultima, is that he tries to make the reader understand the story better with a great deal of symbolism and does a very good job of it to!

The only reason I would rate this book a four-star is that most of the dialogue was in Spanish. I don't know Spanish at all, so it was kind of hard to follow the story. I know that the language was a good background image of the people of new Mexico, but it was a little cumbersome to keep flipping to my reference page of Spanish words. This caused me to have to reread the sentence, phrase, or sometimes paragraph to get the real meaning of what the word meant. It wasn't really in the text as much, but in the dialogue. I always can tell what a book is about when I read the dialogue and I am a firm believer that dialogue helps the everyday person understand what the story is about, almost like symbolism, but better, because with dialogue you know what the characters are thinking then.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who is willing to take an adventure through a young boys mind and his voyages. Rudolfo Anaya is a great writer, since his technique is greatly separate from anyone elses writing technique.

Rating:
Summary: A poignant coming-of-age story....
Review: I have just finished reading Bless Me, Ultima in my English class and I can say that it is a good choice.

The book is about a young Mexican boy, Antonio Marez, growing up in New Mexico during the mid 1940s. It begins when he is six years old, and Ultima, a curandera or healing woman, comes to live with his family because she is getting too old to live by herself. Through Ultima's gentle guidance and support, Antonio faces his uncertainties and learns to go on with life.

Antonio's parents are opposites, his father being a Marez, people of the llano (the desert land in New Mexico), and his mother being a Luna, farmers and people of the moon and the earth. His father wants Antonio to grow up free to roam the land and become a vaquero, as he once was. His mother wants Antonio to be a priest, a man of learning. Antonio is torn between them regarding his future.

Throughout the story, Antonio also faces confusion over religion and spirituality. Ultima believes in God, but she also believes and works magic. But there is no evil in Ultima and Antonio is confused over Catholicism. His mother wants him to become a priest, and though he does believe in God, he wants understanding from Him, answers to his many questions.

From a very young age, Antonio witnesses death. Death of a war-crazed man, Lupito. Death of a good family friend, Narcisco. And finally the unjust death of Ultima, killed by an evil man vowing revenge on Ultima for the death of his two daughters who were brujas (witches).

Through the trials he is faced with and the death of his beloved mentor, Ultima, Antonio learns to go on with life and leave the past behind. He realizes the power of good over evil and understands that truth is more powerful than that which is prescribed by custom.

A lot of what goes through Antonio's mind through the story is similar to the questions I have had through growing up. I can relate to him and to the other characters in the book. And I have learned that mankind is no different in spite of age, race, religion, culture, and upbringing.

Kudos to Rudolfo Anaya for his first novel that brings Mexican-American culture to the reader and a genuinely poignant "growing up" story that can be read by all ages.

Rating:
Summary: Bless Me, Ultima: A Reflection
Review: One goal of the book was to display to the public only some of the pressures that a child will face during his or her process of maturing. In this story, Antonio has to deal with pleasing his parents, pleasing his friends, and still being able to be and do what will please him. Wherever he goes, he feels he needs to fit in and be what everyone wants him to be. He ends up feeling helpless and confused because he discovers what most of us know: You cannot please everyone. The needs he should have been concerned with primarily should have been his own, but being the good and obedient son and friend, he tries to take on more than he can handle. It is understandable that he wants his parents to be proud of him and his friends to accept him, but the first thing that he should do is first be proud of and accept himself. This was the part that I related to most, because I understand those pressures that he was going through. I have to deal with them every day of my life. Fortunately, he has a better understanding of how to survive life by the end of the book.

Ultima and Antonio have a unique relationship, but that was what made it so great. Ultima knew about the things that Antonio was going to ask her before the thoughts even entered his mind. Every time they talked to each other, Antonio learned something new. Ultima always had some lesson to teach the related to every situation they encountered. Therefore, every conversation Antonio had with Ultima made him grow up and mature a little more. Ultima served as a guide and friend to the little boy. She seemed to be the one who understood his feelings best when he felt like no one did.

Bless Me, Ultima started out to be semi-interesting, but then toward the middle, I felt like it started to "drag." One aspect that I took notice of, though, was the issue that Antonio was having with the conflicting faiths. On the one hand, he would choose to be Catholic like he was raised to be and he would follow the word of God, but on the other hand, Cico had introduced him to the Golden Carp. This newfound deity seemed to be so influential that it caused Antonio to question his faith in the Church. I liked these parts in the book, because they point out that even the most devout and religious people can be tempted to stray from their beliefs. The indecision about his faith was especially great in some parts of the story, because he felt like God abandoned him at times. There were so many of his questions that were left unanswered. He thought that the answers would finally come once he was communed, but it didn't happen, and that left him unsatisfied. He considered worshipping the Golden Carp instead.