Death Comes for the Archbishop

What just happened?

Wow, when I picked this book out to read for my English book report I had no idea it was going to be this boring! I had it for a few weeks and only go to about page 65.. I had trouble remembering things i had just read. It was so painfully boring.. I had to read it and I know i had to, so i forced myself to do it. I thought it was a mystery (thats what i was told) i thought someone was gonna kill the archbishop and the rest was figuring out who dun it.. NOt! wow i will never read this book again.. yes it was a 'good book' in the way she wrote it.. but yuck i hated it!

2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer

I loved the story, the imagery, and the characters. I found myself going back and rereading pages just to savor the descriptions. Cather is truly a poet. I'm a better human for having read this book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Its a wonderful book deserving to be read by all

I picked up this book by accident, thankfully so; it has become one of my favorites. This book gives us a glimpse of the goodness that can be found in humanity, it expresses our desire to strive for something higher than ourselves.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

The only reason I give the book three stars is that the prose is only a narrative. She never shows anything, only tells.... There is no action to speak of.

Death Comes to The Archbishop by Willa Cather, 1927.

The primary character is Bishop Jean Marie Latour, who travels with his friend and vicar Joseph Vaillant from Sandusky, Ohio to New Mexico to take charge of the newly established diocese of New Mexico, which has only just become a territory of the United States.

At the time of his departure, Cincinnati is the end of the railway line west, so Latour must travel by riverboat to the Gulf of Mexico, and thence overland to New Mexico, a journey which takes an entire year. He spends the rest of his life establishing the Roman Catholic church in New Mexico, where he dies in old age.

The novel is notable for its portrayal of two well-meaning and devout French priests who encounter a well-entrenched Spanish-Mexican clergy they are sent to supplant when the United States acquired New Mexico and the Vatican, in turn, remapped its dioceses.

Several of these entrenched priests are depicted in classic manner as examples of greed, avarice and gluttony, while others live simple, abstemious lives among the Native Americans. Cather portrays the Hopi and Navajo sympathetically, and her characters express the near futility of overlaying their religion on a millennia-old native culture.

Cather's vivid landscape descriptions are also memorable. A scene where a priest and his Native American guide take cover in an ancient cave during a blizzard is especially memorable for its superb portrayal of the combined forces of nature and culture.

The only reason I give the book three stars is that the prose is only a narrative. She never shows anything, only tells.... There is no action to speak of. Ms. Cather sometimes covers years in one sentence, and other times writes paragraphs for one minute. The book reads easy and since I've traveled the areas described, I found it interesting.

If you like "My Antonia" or "O Pioneers" you should read this one, too

I have come to love (and expect) the beautiful nature descriptions in Willa Cather's books and "Death Comes for the Archbishop" is no exception. Cather captures both the wonder and desolation of nineteenth-century southwestern US/northwestern Mexico borderlands in a book that also explores the life choices of a man devoted to serving God. The only stumbling point I encountered was that I expected more plot than was given (the novel is entirely character-driven) but once I adjusted my expectations I had no futher issues with the novel.

Great Read!

I have read this book at least four times over the years and will be reading it again, I am sure. Its old school in the fact that it builds on frendships and dedication to helping others. At the end of our days can we look back and feel that we have truly made a difference? It helps us think of what is truly important in life. New Mexico is a wonderfull place and if you have ever been there then this book will feel like home.

Decent

It truly wasn't that bad of a book to read, it wasn't boring at all. It wasn't an adventurous book but it was a book that was well written and had some deep underlying themes.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

a wonderful story

This book helped me understand other peoples way of living. It describes dignity and , kindness of people, beauty of nature and landscapes, and the enourmos diccipline it takes to be a good missionar in a remote country like New Mexico. It was an adventure to read this book!!

Deeper than plot

Cather's outstanding use of imagery and setting propel the story to something that is beautiful. Most books today are action-packed plot-centered novels that are reminiscent of the books turned out in the fiction department of the Ministry of Truth in Orwell's 1984. This book is not meant to be centered around plot, but rather it is a series of snapshots in the life of a man stuck in an uncomfortable position as he rises above his circumstances. Moreover, Death Comes for the Archbishop, is a classic because of its timeless themes. I recommend this book to anyone who can think beyond a plot line.

couldn't Pick It Up a second time

I got to page 66 and fell asleep, its a good book for insomniacs. the title Death comes for the Archbishop, i was hoping he would have ben murdered and the other priest had to solve the murder, no such luck. to say it was boring is an understatement!!! highly not recommended.

Death didn't come quick enough

Easily the most boring book I have ever read. One word to describe it, painful. You can only describe peach trees for so long until you want to kill yourself from boredom. No real story line/plot, no character development, no excitement. The book is impossible to follow, one minute Latuor is Albuquerque, the next paragraph she is talking about Indians, then they priests are in another completely different city with a completely different story. Characters pop out of nowhere only to vanish just as quickly with no reference made ever again to them. This book was a complete waste of my time; I don't understand how anyone could find this book interesting/exiting or a masterpiece of literature.

Death came for me after I read this book

This is by far the most boring book I've ever read. I admit it was a bit, A BIT, exciting, but it was difficult to get through the book. I couldn't help putting down the book just 5 minutes after picking it up. I don't recommend reading this book just to kill time because the book will just kill you.

An Assignment

I had to read this book for an assignment, but even then, it was not bad. The psycological complexities and relationships between the characters and the nature around them is truly fascinating....if you can derive it from the text. Most do not look upon books like this in such a way, but if you do, it will truly heighten your enjoyment of the novel.

Exciting but not

I enjoyed the book but it was very hard to get into to. I do not recommend to read for leisure purposes.

Teenage Perspective

Great review. I loved the book, and could hardly put it down. It got slow in a few places but other than that its wonderful. Pretty good considering the teenage attention span is so small.

The Mild West

Charming tale of a priest and his life in the American West in the 1800's. I'm sure that if I knew more about the life of Ms. Cather, the book would get 5 stars. Epic in a television mini-series way, but proof that books are indeed superior.

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