Review by: Explodeahippie and the Alpacas
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Bless Me, Ultima is a Bildungsroman written at the time of WWII, about a young boy named Antonio and the spiritual guidance he receives from a curandera (healer) who comes to live with them, by the name of Ultima. It is a magical realist work, and starts with the summer of Ultima's arrival. It ends with Ultima's death, and is narrated by an older Antonio recalling the events of his childhood. It includes vivid accounts of Antonio's dreams, and it details Antonio's internal conflicts quite well--between innocence and experience, and between the ways of his mother (the daughter of farmers) and those of his father (who was a vaquero, or cowboy, on the llano). The reader does not know of Antonio's ultimate decision, but is instead left to speculate on the outcome of Antonio's internal turmoil. However, his journey into adulthood is well written and full of interesting elements of Latin American spiritualism. [Prize claimed 6/27/08] |
