Book Review: Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya

Lush and dream-like, Bless Me, Ultima takes us to New Mexico in the 1940s where six-year-old Antonio Marez tests the bonds that tie him to his people and to his past. When a famous curandra, a healer, moves in with Tony's family, he becomes emmersed in a world of the old ways, the pagan ways. For a boy that is on the cusp of making his First Holy Communion, this troubles Tony and often makes him question which God is the right God. Is it the God found in church? Or is it the old Gods, the ones that he finds all around him?

To guide him on this journey of self and of truth, the curandra or la grande, Ultima takes the boy under her wing, bringing him with her to help cure the townspeople of the curses that have plagued them. For such a young boy, Tony is exposed to many things including deep, earthly magic and even murder. He remains strong and resilient in his quest to find the truth and his rightful path.

Told with such language, description and emotion, Bless Me, Ultima is almost written magically, plunging the reader into the mystical world of New Mexico and the culture of its people.

Score: 5/5
Book Information: Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya was published originally published in 1972. This review refers to the 1994 edition published by Grand Central Publishing with ISBN 978-0446600255.

And, the book was made into a movie to be released in 2013:

Book Review: Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich

I have not read a lot of literature involving Native Americans and culture, but I did find Love Medicine and decided to read it. Published in 1984, Love Medicine tells the story of a group of Chippewa living on a reservation in North Dakota. Erdrich chronicles 60 years of the lives of these people.

She opens her novel with the passing of June Morrissey who freezes to death in a snow storm trying to get back to her family. The novel continues in a very conversational way, introducing us to various members of the family and reservation which is reminiscent of Native American culture wherein stories were spoken, not written. Erdrich richly paints the trials and difficulties of living on a reservation, revealing the alcoholism and abusive relationships that plague many of the people that live there.

With younger generations, Erdrich explores what it's like to be an Euro-Indian, wherein the unfairness and often clear resentment of the US government is evident and explored.

What I found difficult of the book was keeping the relationships of the characters in order. There are many affairs and surprises of paternity that occur throughout the book, often times the characters themselves not even being aware of their true parental lineage. I had difficulty keeping it all straight, especially when trying to understand where alliances stood and why.

Score: 3/5
Book Information: Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich was originally published in 1984 with a revised edition having been released in May of 2009 by Harper Perennial with ISBN 978-0061787423.