Death Comes for the Archbishop (Vintage Classics)

From one of the most highly acclaimed novelists of the twentieth century: a truly remarkable book" (The New York Times), an epic story of a life lived simply in the silence of the southwestern desert. With a new introduction by Claire Messud.

In 1851 Father Jean Marie Latour comes to serve 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 belief. In the almost forty years that follow, Latour spreads his faith in the only way he knows—gently, all the while contending with an unforgiving landscape, derelict and sometimes openly rebellious priests, and his own loneliness. Out of these events, Cather gives us an indelible vision of life unfolding in a place where time itself seems suspended.

BUY THE BOOK

297 pages

Average rating: 6.52

21 RATINGS

|

Community Reviews

Gershom
Apr 03, 2025
8/10 stars
I read this book to write a report, it felt difficult to read, but as I did research into the book it gave me a newfound appreciation of the metaphors. After my grandfather passed, and seeing how his life impacted many, this book grows closer to my heart as time passes.

See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.