Helpful Score: 3
This classic by Pulitzer Prize winner Willa Cather was written in 1927. It was a book chosen for our Book Club and I would not normally have chosen a book such as this to read. The story takes place in the 1850's when the New Mexico Territory has just been acquired by the United States. Two french clergymen, The Archbishop and his Vicar, travel from Ohio, but they were originally from France, to undertake the near impossible project of spreading faith and religion among the various Mexican and Indian settlements that dotted the dry, arid countryside. The author's strength is in her detailing of the scenery and her peaceful, serene narrative. One book club member described it as "Painting a picture".
There is little plot, but more a series of short stories which share the 2 religious men's experiences among the native people. What I liked about it is the respect and admiration the author, hence the 2 religious men, have towards the natives so that they are not trying to press their faith on anyone, but enhance and help where and when they are needed. The natives then seem to share an equal respect with the 2 Frenchmen.
I enjoyed the book and it did make me feel relaxed and calm whenever I picked it up. I can't say, however, that it was a real page-turner or that I couldn't put it down. It's just not enough my style of book.
The ending however (about the last 50 pages) get a lot more interesting as everything is brought together as the Archbishop is dying. I found that I read these last pages all at once without putting the book down and was thoroughly captivated. (And no, it wasn't because we had our book club meeting the next day either - ha ha!)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Willa Cather was born near Winchester, Virginia in 1873.When she was 10, her family moved to the prairies of Nebraska, later the setting for a number of her novels. At the age of 21 she graduated from the University of Nebraska and spent the next few years doing newspaper work and taching high school in Pittsburgh. In 1903 her first book, April Twilights, a collection of poems, was published, and two years later The Troll Gardens, a colection of stories, appeared in print. After the publication of her first novel, Alexander's Bridge, in 1912, Cather devoted herself fulltime to writing, and, over the years, completed 11 more novels (including O Pioneers!, My Antonia, The Professor's House and Death Comes to the Archbishop), four collections of short stories, an two volumes of essays. Cather won the Pulitzer Prize for One of Ours in 1923. She died in 1947.
There is little plot, but more a series of short stories which share the 2 religious men's experiences among the native people. What I liked about it is the respect and admiration the author, hence the 2 religious men, have towards the natives so that they are not trying to press their faith on anyone, but enhance and help where and when they are needed. The natives then seem to share an equal respect with the 2 Frenchmen.
I enjoyed the book and it did make me feel relaxed and calm whenever I picked it up. I can't say, however, that it was a real page-turner or that I couldn't put it down. It's just not enough my style of book.
The ending however (about the last 50 pages) get a lot more interesting as everything is brought together as the Archbishop is dying. I found that I read these last pages all at once without putting the book down and was thoroughly captivated. (And no, it wasn't because we had our book club meeting the next day either - ha ha!)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Willa Cather was born near Winchester, Virginia in 1873.When she was 10, her family moved to the prairies of Nebraska, later the setting for a number of her novels. At the age of 21 she graduated from the University of Nebraska and spent the next few years doing newspaper work and taching high school in Pittsburgh. In 1903 her first book, April Twilights, a collection of poems, was published, and two years later The Troll Gardens, a colection of stories, appeared in print. After the publication of her first novel, Alexander's Bridge, in 1912, Cather devoted herself fulltime to writing, and, over the years, completed 11 more novels (including O Pioneers!, My Antonia, The Professor's House and Death Comes to the Archbishop), four collections of short stories, an two volumes of essays. Cather won the Pulitzer Prize for One of Ours in 1923. She died in 1947.
Helpful Score: 2
The story tells that of a single human life, lived simply in the silence of the desert. In 1851 Father Jean Marie Latour comes as the Apostolic Vicar to New Mexico. What he finds is a vast territory of red hills and tortuous arroyos. American by law but Mexican and Indian in custom and believe. In the almost 40 years taht follow, Latour spreads his faith the only way he knows -- gently, although he must contend with an unforgiving landscape.
Such a gripping story. So down to earth.
This is probably Willa Cather's best-known novel. This is a very gentle story of a simple life in the southwestern desert regions of New Mexico. Archbishop Jean Marie Latour comes to the area from Europe. The land has come under the auspices of America and its laws, but most of the people are Mexicans and Indians. The tale takes place over forty years (from the 1850s until the beginning of the 1890s). It is the story of the Archbishop, as he sowed the seeds of Christianity amongst the people of his diocese.
This is an interesting story of a man's gentle nurturing of the people he interacts with vs. the hard realities of the unforgiving land. The French missionary priest must deal with personal loneliness; he really doesn't see the good that he does. I am unable to share the profound sadness I feel about the ending of this wonderful story. This is such a powerful tale.
One thing I think this story might serve as a wonderful reminder to people who guide other lives (such as a priest, minister, teacher, counselor, etc.), that they have little idea how profoundly they can affect other lives. As a former teacher and counselor, I can only hope that my interactions with others might have made some difference. This story tells me that only time can demonstrate value; we are not equipped to measure it.
This is an interesting story of a man's gentle nurturing of the people he interacts with vs. the hard realities of the unforgiving land. The French missionary priest must deal with personal loneliness; he really doesn't see the good that he does. I am unable to share the profound sadness I feel about the ending of this wonderful story. This is such a powerful tale.
One thing I think this story might serve as a wonderful reminder to people who guide other lives (such as a priest, minister, teacher, counselor, etc.), that they have little idea how profoundly they can affect other lives. As a former teacher and counselor, I can only hope that my interactions with others might have made some difference. This story tells me that only time can demonstrate value; we are not equipped to measure it.
I loved My Antonia, so I hoped to enjoy this Cather book just as much. I just cannot slog through it. One of the most boring books I've ever tried to read. None of the characters move me and the prose is plodding. The book is going back on the 'posted' list.
This is another title that appears several of my "top books" lists. Ms. Cather's writing is rich and pleasant to read, as it was in My Antonia and O Pioneers! The descriptions of nineteenth century New Mexico and the southwest US and the many cultures and personalities are full and three dimensional, and also rich. But the overall context centered around the Catholic archbishop missionary and his travels and cohorts was less interesting to me. I suspect that the story sheds light on the reality of life in the church in that era and context, but i found it secondary to the rich descriptive writing used in the story.
Beautifully written account of French priests coming to Santa Fe, NM, in mid-nineteenth century. Lots of adventures with Indians and Mexicans in the new US territory after the war with Mexico. Cather describes the landscapes wonderfully.
Based on the true story of the archbishop who built the cathedral at Santa Fe. Minor characters include Kit Carson and his wife Josefa. A vivid description of the beautiful Southwest.
French archbishop dies in the American/Mexican wilderness. Not particularly complimentary towards Catholics IMO.
One thing you always get from Willa Cather is a strong, almost otherworldly, sense of the land in which her novels are set. In this case, as with "The Professor's House," that land is the southwest of New Mexico, and the story is the romance that develops between Bishop LaTour and that land.
excellent
One of my favorites of Willa Cather's. Lost my old copy somehow and am glad I could get another. It's about time to re-read.
Slice of life of priest in mid 1800's.
Willa Cather has a way with words especially describing the Southwest land and people...her language is beautiful. However, after awhile, it gets tedious. Also, 95 pages into the book, I don't find much plot... just the clerics travelling here and there.
For me, I'll move on to something more exciting.
For me, I'll move on to something more exciting.
It's good to read a classic again and remember just why it is a classic.
Straight from the imagination of one of Americas premier writers, this is a story of stories about the development of New Mexico in the 1850s. It is of the poor Mexican and Native American Catholics and the building of their mostly poor parishes. It is history as well as the human experience; it is faith in the extreme; survival in a barren wilderness. And, there is no one better to tell of these adventures (as such they are) than Willa Cather.
Loved it! I live in NM and found the history very intriguing. Now reading a book from the Martinez Hacienda (in Taos) on the relationship between Lamy and the Padre. Lamy isn't very highly regarded in these parts!
