Reader Response Blog: Bless Me, Ultima 4

     Well, I finally made it. I spent my vacation skiing, repairing and playing an alto from 1931, and reading Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima. I feel pretty good right now, actually. I think I have accomplished a lot this Christmas break. However, this cannot change my dislike for the book. It's not even that I hated the book. Instead, I disliked it, and as a result, I consider it a waste of time. I wish I read it all before break started so I wouldn't have wasted my precious relaxation and practice time.

     The worst things about this book are its espanol and its world views. One of the (numerous) things that grinds my gears is when a person is over religious to the point where they constantly talk about it and they impose it upon the people who don't care about it. Sorry, I'm a "sinner" and it will never change. In your eyes at least because I think most of the things that I do are perfectly acceptable; I have never really hurt anyone, committed a crime, drunken or done drugs. I get good enough grades and I try as hard as I can. I want people (Anaya, Catholics) to stop telling me that I'm doing something wrong simply because I'm Protestant and don't go to church. Christianity is one of two major world religions that actively recruits. I think the other is Islam, but I could be mistaken. Anyhow, I am a good person, I work hard, and I am seeking a productive career. I felt like Anaya was criticizing everybody, Catholics and non-Catholics through the entire book. It was hard to connect to it because I am not Catholic, not religious, and have no connection to the llano. I am polar to Antonio, and for this reason, I have not enjoyed the book.

     This book never really had what people may call the "It Factor". I was never stimulated by its pages and the only time I ever felt any real emotion was when Narciso was killed. I felt sad and sort of annoyed that Anaya would kill off the most interesting character in the book. From there on out, all hope was lost. It was actually hard to finish the last pages; I had to mentally push myself. Bless Me, Ultima was a horrifically boring read, and I would not recommend it to anyone, ever.