Death Comes for the Archbishop

by Willa Cather (1873-1947). Copyright 1927. ISBN 0-679-72889-9. Fiction.

This book was "assigned" by our local book club. Though many of the members had read Cather's My Antonia and O Pioneers, this one was certainly new territory – in more ways than one.

Being Nebraskans, we have a special interest in Ms. Cather's books, though this certainly wasn't about Nebraska. My general impression of the book was that it was half fiction, half New Mexico history and geography and half Catholic propaganda. (Yes, I know that adds up to more than a whole, so maybe fractions aren't the best way to describe the makeup of the book.)

Because she portrayed the main character, Jean Marie Latour, so sympathetically, I was surprised to discover that Cather was not Catholic. In fact, the more I look into Cather's life, the more fascinating she becomes. I had no idea so much had been written about her and her books. This book, for instance, was listed in 2005 as one of Time Magazine's 100 best English language novels written between 1923 and 2005.

Because I am not a member of the Catholic church and have an abhorrence of not only their idolatry but their Mariolatry, which is very much in play in this novel, still I found the close relationship between French priests Jean Marie and his friend Joseph Valliant touching, and their personalities well developed.

I was also fascinated with what I would classify as myths -- those of the Catholics in the story -- and those of their Indian and Mexican acquaintances. The book made me want to investigate further into these various stories to see whether they were really part of Catholic and New Mexico's folklore. I suspect they are.

And speaking of New Mexico, the landscape was as much a part of the story as were the priests. We have visited New Mexico numerous times – most recently in 2006 – and I enjoyed trying to picture the cities of Bernalillo, Albuquerque, Taos, and Santa Fe of 150 years ago.

If you're looking for a novel of suspense and intrigue, this isn't it. The plot doesn't build to a climax that resolves at the end. It's more like reading a missionary's journal.

That's no coincidence. The novel is based on the life of Bishop Jean Baptiste L'Amy and Father Joseph Machebeuf, and includes a couple of tales about Kit Carson, who was apparently a friend of theirs.

It will be an interesting discussion when our book club meets tomorrow night. One friend, who obviously would have preferred a more active plot, has already summed up the book this way: "The title tells it all. There was an archbishop, and he died."

Still, I would probably read it again, not to discover how it ends -- that is in the title -- but as a thoughtful study of the time, the place, and the people.