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A review by pangnaolin
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Lord. This book is so incredibly beautiful, I don't know where to begin. I'm not giving it five stars simply because I have a very strict criteria for my five star books (they have to be the most personally, emotionally impactful books of all time), but it truly does deserve it quality-wise.
Antonio is such a beautiful young character to follow, and the Anaya (through Ultima among others) expertly leads him to explorations of his beliefs and values while navigating those of the people around him. I was incredibly stunned by the beautiful symbolism within the novel, and just the imagery in general, whether it's the golden carp, the mermaid, the races with the Kid, the duality of earth vs. wind and rooted vs. free, Ultima's owl, or something else entirely. I'm constantly looking around me in every scene of the novel, wondering what different little things mean and feeling curious about every single choice and character.
There were definitely some weird choices with the way he wrote characters (I'm still sort of left confused about Bones and Horse), alongside some frustrating sexism (though I wonder how much is him painting an image of how Antonio and those around him perceive the world vs. how much of it is his personal perception of the world), but I still generally felt that the novel had incredible merit as is, and analyzing issues like sexism even add to my personal understanding of it, regardless of whether it was intended.
I also feel like, on a personal level, this book re-awoke my sense of magic. I've always felt it and never stopped believing it, but I feel reaffirmed and alive in that side of myself, and I'm excited to explore it again. Anaya brought me to a new world and I was able to explore alongside Antonio in the most beautiful of ways.
Antonio is such a beautiful young character to follow, and the Anaya (through Ultima among others) expertly leads him to explorations of his beliefs and values while navigating those of the people around him. I was incredibly stunned by the beautiful symbolism within the novel, and just the imagery in general, whether it's the golden carp, the mermaid, the races with the Kid, the duality of earth vs. wind and rooted vs. free, Ultima's owl, or something else entirely. I'm constantly looking around me in every scene of the novel, wondering what different little things mean and feeling curious about every single choice and character.
There were definitely some weird choices with the way he wrote characters (I'm still sort of left confused about Bones and Horse), alongside some frustrating sexism (though I wonder how much is him painting an image of how Antonio and those around him perceive the world vs. how much of it is his personal perception of the world), but I still generally felt that the novel had incredible merit as is, and analyzing issues like sexism even add to my personal understanding of it, regardless of whether it was intended.
I also feel like, on a personal level, this book re-awoke my sense of magic. I've always felt it and never stopped believing it, but I feel reaffirmed and alive in that side of myself, and I'm excited to explore it again. Anaya brought me to a new world and I was able to explore alongside Antonio in the most beautiful of ways.