Rudolfo Anaya (1937–2020)

3.5***

Opening Lines: Ultima came to stay with us the summer I was almost seven. When she came the beauty of the llano unfolded before my eyes, and the gurgling waters of the river sang to the hum of the turning earth. The magical time of childhood stood still, and the pulse of the living earth pressed its mystery into my living blood. She took my hand, and the silent, magic powers she possessed made beauty from the raw, sun-baked llano, the green river valley, and the blue bowl which was show more the white sun’s home.

Antonio Marez (Tony) narrates this coming-of-age story as he recounts the several years that Ultima lived with his family in the mid 1940s. She was elderly and her small New Mexico village virtually deserted when Tony’s parents decided to bring Ultima to live with them. She had been a great friend to his mother’s and father’s families; a curandera, she had healed the sick and prayed with them to ward off evil. Her knowledge of plants and herbs is frequently sought out, but also results in some residents calling her “una bruja” (a witch). With her calm demeanor she helps Tony make sense of the world and the evil in it. She helps him to find his own inner strength and to recognize the power of goodness, love and forgiveness.

This is a magical, mystical story that reminds me of the oral story-telling traditions of my grandparents. It is a spiritual journey as much as a journey from babyhood to childhood. Antonio relates many of his vivid dreams – some quite disturbing – which Ultima helps him to interpret. He tries to puzzle out the realities and meanings in the teachings of the Catholic Church as he prepares for his first confession and first communion. He embraces education and learning, although other students make fun of him, and develops a good relationship with his first teacher. He begins to recognize the differences between his parents’ wishes for his future; his father is a man of the plains, a vaquero, and wants this free life for his son, while his mother hopes Antonio will be a priest. He loves and learns from his uncles on both sides of the family – ranchers and farmers. He witnesses some violent and disturbing scenes, but also marvels at the inner strength of his father, mother and Ultima, and learns about loyalty and friendship.

Over the course of the novel (about two years) Tony and his friends also figure out some lessons for themselves. At one point he and his friend Cico have to run from a group of bullies. He asks Cico why the gang attacked them. “I don’t know,” Cico answered, “except that people, grown-ups and kids, seem to want to hurt each other – and it’s worse when they’re in a group.”

I really liked the way in which the adults in the novel tried to explain the world to the child in ways he could understand, and in ways which helped him feel more secure and less troubled. Towards the end, Antonio realizes Ultima’s great lesson: “That the tragic consequences of life can be overcome by the magical strength that resides in the human heart.”

In Anaya’s writing the landscape becomes as important as any character. In fact, it is alive with movement, promise, danger, strength, and forgiveness. It can shelter you or injure you. It can nourish you or kill you.

The novel includes quite a lot of Spanish language words, phrases and even sentences. Non-Spanish speakers may feel a little lost, though I believe context and later paragraphs serve to everything pretty clearly. (Curse words are NOT translated, however.) show less

This isn't a book I would normally pick up due to its emphasis on Southwestern folk religion. However, my community selected this book for its "Big Read" program this month and I decided I would at least read the book, even if I don't attend any of the community events. I didn't realize until today that the book is on one of the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom's lists of frequently challenged books, so I've also participated in Banned Books Week.

Although the book is often described as a show more coming of age novel, the main character is a tad young for the traditional coming of age novel. The book covers the 2-year time period from the summer before Antonio enters first grade through the summer after third grade. (Antonio is a bright child and skipped the second grade.) The book is about his spiritual coming of age, though, so the description fits.

Antonio is a sensitive, introspective child, who is exposed to violence at a young age. He wrestles with the problem of evil, especially in his nightmares. He longs for his first communion, when he will "eat God." Antonio expects to know the answers to all of his questions once God is inside him, and he is greatly disappointed by God's silence after his first communion. The Catholic rituals and catechisms don't address the kinds of questions he has for God. Ultima, the curandera who lives with Antonio's family, is the only adult who provides any real spiritual guidance for Antonio. Although she performs at least some Catholic religious customs, Ultima's religion has its roots in Native American shamanistic beliefs. The other major influences on Antonio's spiritual development come from two of his pals: his friend, Cico, who believes in a fish god, and his friend, Florence, who is an atheist.

I'm not sure why Bless Me, Ultima has been challenged so frequently, but my guess is that many challenges have come from parents who object to it as required reading for their children. The book does have a strong emphasis on the supernatural, and it could be disturbing to some young people. I would recommend that parents read the book and decide for themselves whether their child is mature enough for the book's themes. There are other good books that illustrate Hispanic American culture, so it should be easy to find an alternative reading selection that would accomplish the same purpose.

This well-written novel is recommended especially to students of cultural anthropology for its portrayal of Southwestern religious syncretism. show less

“From my mother I had learned that man is of the earth, that his clay feet are part of the ground that nourishes him, and that it is this inextricable mixture that gives man his measure of safety and security….But from my father and Ultima I had learned that the greater immortality is in the freedom of man, and that freedom is best nourished by the noble expanse of land and air and pure, white sky. I dreaded to think of a time when I could not walk upon the llano and feel like the eagle show more that floats on its skies: free, immortal, limitless.” – Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

Antonio Márez is a young boy living in rural New Mexico in the mid-1940s. Última, a curandera (herbal healer), comes to live with his family due to her advancing age. Antonio’s father wants him to become a vaquero and his mother wants him to become a priest. In going to school for the first time, he is thrown into a multicultural environment – Anglo, Mexican, and Native American. Antonio narrates his story, looking back on his life from age six to nine. It is a classic coming of age story.

Antonio is exposed to a variety of beliefs. His mother is a devout Catholic, his father is not religious, Última embraces mystic folklore, a townsman believes in witches and curses, a fellow student is an atheist, and a friend finds the mysterious Golden Carp, a pagan god of Native American legend. He is exposed to violence and grapples with questions of why bad things happen to good people.

At first, I thought Antonio too young to be the protagonist of a coming of age story, but I think the author is portraying how an innocent child figures out how to “be” in the world. Antonio reflects on questions about religion, faith, spirituality, good vs. evil, mysticism, and folklore. For such a young person, he is quite the philosopher! And with him, the reader can engage in examining similar questions. By the end, while his path is not determined, we can see a way forward for him. It is a many-layered story that I found quite thought-provoking. show less

Ultima, a curandera – a sort of spiritual healer in the Mexican culture – comes to live with Antonio’s family in a small New Mexico town. She helps him to understand the world around him, both physically and spiritually, and to find his own place and purpose in it.

Much of Antonio’s struggle is rooted in the differing cultures represented in his own family. His mother is from the Luna family, farmers, people rooted and cultivated in the earth. His father is a Marez, ranchers, people show more who wander the earth following the wind. But on a deeper level, Antonio is confused about the spiritual element to the world. What is the essence of God? And do deities beyond the traditional notions of faith exist, ones that are tied to the natural world? Ultima guides Antonio through these conflicts and helps him begin to construct his own ideas out of all of the elements of his history and experience.

Rudolfo Anaya’s book is two things. First, [Bless Me, Ultima] is New Mexico, examining all of the conflicting extremes, both physical and spiritual, that identify the place and its people. Secondly, the book is a profoundly spiritual book. Anaya examines so many of the basic quandaries which face a person striving to live by faith, wondering, through Antonio, whether there is more than God at work in the world. The answers for Antonio are a blend of the world he can touch and the world that exists beyond, much like his own nature is a blend of the two diverse people that his parents represent.

The poetry of Anaya’s writing is on display on nearly every page. One sample, the first paragraph of the book, should be enough to hook you:

“Ultima came to stay with us the summer I was almost seven. When she came the beauty of the llano unfolded before my eyes, and the gurgling waters of the river sang to the hum of the turning earth. The magical time of childhood stood still, and the pulse of the living earth pressed its mystery into my living blood. She took my hand, and the silent magic powers she possessed made beauty from the raw, sun-baked 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.”

Bottom Line: A beautifully written book, profoundly spiritual, and perfectly in tune with the place of its birth.

4 ½ bones!!!!! show less