Customer Reviews

Death in the Afternoon

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4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I am a bullfighter fan ( I am Spanish ) and in my life I have taken to bullfighting to many foreign friends, I know well their point of views about the fiesta in the beginning but when you explain what's all about and the so many rules and regulation a corrida has, and the so many things that are happening but you don't see, they absolutely enjoyed.
I wanted to read this book in English because I would like to know the english vocabulary of the fiesta and how the fiesta was in 1931 that my father used to tell me, after finishing it I have to say that this is absolutely the best book about bullfighting I have ever read so far!.
It is awesome how this american could achieve so vaste knowledge about this matter.
I love the enthusiastic way he describes all the aspects of the fiesta,the bullfighters and their different technics,everything is here, even the two roads which existed in the age to get from Madrid to Seville.
I like very much the comparision he does at the beggining of the book between wine and bullfighting.
I thought I knew a lot about our national party but after reading this book I realised I was partially wrong.
And what to say about the way Hemingway writes... It is absolutely phantastic, pure magic and amazing...
My advice is if after reading this book you want to assist to a corrida do the possible to go with an aficionado you will enjoy the triple!!.

This book is for those who love bullfighting, those who loathe bullfighting and those who would like a few writing tips from a master.

I read this book while I was in Spain, but I did not see a fight until I had finished. Going to a bullfight without knowledge or someone to guide me would have been overwhelming. But seeing the details Hemingway descibes come to life made it that much more exciting.

For those who object to bullfighting you have that right. But don't object without knowing the how's or why's of what goes on. The most eye-opening thing you will see at a fight is the crowd getting upset at a fighter who takes liberties with a bull. Hemingway descibes in detail the purpose for every action taken in the ring, which gives clearity to what looks like cruelty.

And finally, Hemingway gives advice on writing no writer should ignore. "When you write, don't write characters...write people." If you are a writer, whether interested in bullfighting or not, you should read this book for the invaluable advice of a master.

I can hardly think of a better way to spend an afternoon than hanging out with Papa Hemingway.

Hemingway is at his best when discussing the fine art of bullfighting. He demonstrates a great appreciation for the bloodsport without romanticizing it. However, the writing is uneven. He throws in incidental pieces such as his running dialog with an old lady which only serves to detract from the subject. I suppose he was having a little fun with his publishers who probably thought a book on bullfighting wouldn't wash with the general readership, but the old lady becomes a nuissance and I was happy that he dropped her a little over half way through the book.

At the time, bullfighting would have probably seemed foreign to most American readers. But Hemingway notes the handfull of Americans and other expatriates who took part in the corrida. He laments the modernization of the sport in which the art of killing seemed to be lost. He provides an excellent description of the disciplines of bullfighting, the way in which it plays out like a three-act tragedy for the bull.

The time frame is ca. 1930 but it doesn't seem the sport has changed much since then. It is one of the many traditions in Spain that has survived the upheavels of the 20th century. The Socialists tried to eradicate it but failed. Bullfighting takes on a metaphysical aspect in some of the matadors and bulls he describes. It is wonderful reading and a great introduction to the subject.

Hemingway loved bullfighting. And Spain. His affection for these comes across in this book. Death in the Afternoon is also infused with Hemingway's personality, which has been called his greatest artistic creation, and that makes this book especially personal and interesting.
This is a great book to read on a flight to Spain, particularly if you plan to see a bullfight. With your newly-minted expertise in bullfighting, you'll apreciate the pageant much more.
But Death in the afternoon is not just about bullfighting. Hemingway discusses such topics as death, often death, war, writing, art (a comparison of the painters Goya, Velasquez and El Greco), love and Faulkner. This book is more than a guide to bullfighting -- it is good literature.

Being a bullfight aficionado for many years has thought me something: one never ends learning about the "fiesta". So eaven if you are a great aficionado or if you are just courios, this work will teach you how to see the bullfights from another point of view. Hemingway first introduces you to understand what happens in the mind of those who take part in the world of bullfights, then takes you there, with found and tender descriptions of everything a newcomer to the bullfights should know and many things the old aficionados should remember allways. I belive it's the best literature available in english about the subject. It's eaven better than most serious books about bullfighting written by spaniards, mexican or latinamerican experts through out this century, and the Hemingway style is good as ever.

I don't approve of killing animals for entertainment, and this book did not change that disapproval. I endorse this book because of its qualities as a model for introducing a subject to a new learner, rather than for its subject matter.

If you like bullfights, you will like this book because Death in the Afternoon will expand your understanding of what you see. If you want to go to bullfights, this is a good book also because it will tell you how to do so in the most enjoyable way for you.

Most people will never attend a bullfight, because of ethical concerns, some personal dismay about their potential reaction to the violence and horror of the event, or due to lack of opportunity (bullfighting is mainly done in Spain and Mexico). Many of these people will have some interest in understanding more about bullfighting or the appeal and spectacle of the event. Death in the Afternoon provides you with a thoughtful way to satisfy any curiosity you may have.

Hemingway set out to write "an introduction to the modern Spanish bullfight and attempt[ed] to explain that spectacle both emotionally and practically." I think he more than succeeded.

As a child, my parents sometimes took me to Tiajuana in Baja California where bullfights were regularly held on the weekends. We all agreed that we did not approve of killing bulls for sport, and never attended one. But my curiosity was aroused by the sight of the enormous crowds that regularly attended. Until reading this book, I could not understand the appeal. Now I do. I know that bullfights are not for me, but I now know why some like them very much.

Hemingway leads you gently into the subject as though you were chatting while seated at a comfortable table in an outdoor cafe on a pleasant afternoon sipping your favorite beverages. In fact, for part of the book, he invents an "old lady" whom he converses with for comic effect.

He tells you about his own experiences throughout beginning with, "At the first bullfight I ever went to I expected to be horrified and perhaps sickened by what I had been led to believe would happen to the horses." It turned out that this was not his reaction at all. He liked the bullfight, and saw 1,500 bulls killed before writing this book. He also reports that many people he took to fights often experienced different emotions than they expected. Women who disliked violence did not automatically dislike bullfights, and macho men did not necessarily like them.

The central emotion that "good" bullfights create is of grace in the face of death which is inspired by "the closeness with which the matador brings the bull past his body and the slowness with which he can execute the pass."

In the period about which he writes, the 1920s into 1931, bullfighting was in a "decadent" age brought about by a fascination with coming ever closer to the bull's horn and doing more and more elaborate cape work. In addition to the death of many bulls, this also brought about horrible injuries and death for virtually every bullfighter mentioned. That brings special meaning to Hemingway's assertion that bullfighting "is not a sport in the Anglo-Saxon sense . . . ." "Rather it is a tragedy, the death of the bull . . . ." But you will also come to know the tragedy of Joselito, Manuel Granero, and Maera.

Despite my objections to bullfighting, I was tremendously impressed by Hemingway's powers of observation. You will learn about so many miniscule aspects and details of bullfighting, that it will leave your head spinning. For example, a bull that erratically charges to one side or another has to be handled much differently in each pass than one who is like a mechanical bull and is very predictable. Bullfighters prefer the latter, but some of the best work is with the former if the bull is malleable. Does the bullfighter try to teach the bull, or simply survive the experience? The reaction of the bullfighter tells much about his character. The reaction of the fans tells much about their knowledge and character. You feel like you are looking at the world through many revolving kaleidescopes as images are considered in the context of other images, like an unending house of mirrors.

The book says a lot about character -- the character of those involved in bullfighting and the fans. Although Hemingway admires the "honor" of those who face death bravely and act properly in the bull ring, he also points out that too much "honor" is dangerous. In essence, he makes an argument against the values of bullfighting even though he is an aficionado.

He is honest with us, by also sharing his own failed experiences with trying to learn to fight the bulls.

The book is greatly aided by many detailed and impressive photographs that illustrate the points in the book that would otherwise be lost on the reader who has not attended a bullfight. There is also a 61 page glossary of terms to help you handle all of the new concepts he throws at you.

There are some incidental benefits for those who decide not to attend bullfights. Hemingway provides many detailed descriptions of the geography, weather, and characteristics of the people in different parts of Spain. I got several ideas for places I would like to visit on future trips as a result. At the end, he laments that he could not work in the rest of Spain into the book beginning with the Prado. I shared that lament, because a similar book on Spain by Hemingway would have been even more interesting and valuable to me. I can only imagine what his other wonderful descriptions would have been like.

I suggest you take this book and outline it to see the process by which Hemingway takes you from being a neophyte to a quite well-grounded person about bullfighting. How could you do the same for a subject that you need to introduce many people to? If you learn from his story-telling skills, you will be well-rewarded for your experience.

Though at the end of the book Hemingway states that his book is in no way intended to be an all inclusive book on bullfighting, it is considered by many to be "the" best book ever written on the subject. A literary triumph for those interested and those opposed to bullfighting, filled with details of what goes on before, during, and after the fights both from the matadors' and spectators' point of views. If you've never been to a bullfight, this book will put you ring-side to the artistry that is bullfighting. (It is easy to see why this book is so well esteemed, Hemmingway's writing is an art all its own and this book is his fiercest ever.)

Al fin del libro Hemingway dice que no lo debemos considerar el libro todo inclusivo de tauromaquia o corrida de toros, muchos lo consideran el libro definito en el tema. Un triunfo literario paro los interesados y los opuestos a las corridas, lleno de detalles de lo que susede antes, durante, y despues de las corridas en los ojos del matador y los espectadores. Si nunca ha ido a una corrida, este libro lo pondria pormedio del matador y el toro en el arte de la tauromaquia. (Es facil ver porque este libro es tan bien estimado, el estilo de Hemmingway es un arte enteramente suyo y este libro es su mas feroz.)

Death in the Afternoon marks Hemingway's first major experiment in style and genre. While it is about bullfighting, and a marvelous one at that, this book is equally (and perhaps more importantly) about the art of writing as well as the writer himself, or more specifically Hemingway. When viewed in this context Death in the Afternoon reaches a much more complex structure and one demanding closer attention.

Many years ago, I watched a debate on TV in Spain. The debate was on bullfighting. The opponents of bullfighting, who would like to see the spectacle outlawed, declared that "No good intelectual approved of bulfighting" "What about Hemingway?" asked one of the proponents.
What about Hemingway. He has simply written the best book I've ever read on the event/show/tradition of bullfighting. He loved it dearly, and this love permeates every page on the book. His descriptions of the corridas, of the cities where the "Fiestas" are held, although quite dated by now, hold an everlasting charm, that illustrates the scenes, with an expert palette of colors.
Are you going to Spain? Are you planning to see a "corrida de toros"? If you read this book, you will know what it is about, and you will be able to appreciate it. The only thing better than this, would be to have a seat next to an "entendido" who would explain the whole "fiesta" to you.
I read this book in high school, and reread it now, 27 years later. It is still enthralling, and its charm has only gotten better over the years.
Hemingway saw the bullfight as a stylized tragedy; his understanding of the bullfight, mixes with his understanding and love for Spain. At the end, he cannot escape the conclusion that Spain would not be Spain, withouth the bulls and the bullfighting. This even though only a minority of Spaniards go to bullfights, or are even remotely interested in the "fiesta"

It's a pity there is no one now who could develop an updated version of this classic.

I am an aficionado of the corrida and, almost necessarily, loved this book. It is the best thing every written on the subject and, although I don't agree with Hemingway's every point, I still enjoy it. The book was written in 1930 and, even then, he decries a certain corruption in the spectacle. He maintains that the bulls have been bred down in size to make it easier for the matador to work and ultimately kill the bull. Maybe, although I haven't seen this tendency during my lifetime.

He also decries the fact that the emphasis is less and less on the killing as opposed to pageantry and hot-dogging [read Mitchener's "Mexico"]. There is some truth in this but, even back in 1930, Madrid was becoming a tourist mecca and, to a certain extent, the matadors were and are playing to unsophisticated audiences. On the other hand, my experience in less touristy areas has been the opposite. The kill, although not the total point of the fight, is definitely the most important part. Pity the poor matador who has a perfect fight only to have his sword, at the "moment of truth", glance off a rib. He won't get two ears and a tail. He'll be lucky if he gets one ear.

I think Hemingway should have more emphasized that the corrida is NOT a sport. It is a tragedy which appeals to the Spanish [and some non-Spanish]mind. It is not meant to be "fair" in the Anglo-Saxon sense of the word. A brave beast rages courageously only to be bloodied, broken and killed. The matador, on his part, needs to be just as brave. If you don't think so, just try to face an enraged 1500 lb beast with a cape and a flimsy sword. To go to a bullfight hoping the matador will be knocked down and gored, would be like going to a ballet and hoping the prima ballerina fall on her face.

It is a deliberate tragedy where sometimes the dead bull gets a bigger hand than does the matador. It appealed to Hemingway's fatalism. Most of his stories, if you think about it, mirrored the corrida. "All true stories end in death." He said. If you read his tales most end with defeat and death. The Snows of Kilamanjaro, The Old Man and the Sea, The Short and Happy life of Francis MacComber, A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls and many, many others. I wonder if he was thinking of the wounded bull when he loaded his shotgun that day...

Ron Braithwaite author of novels--"Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God"--on the Spanish Conquest of Mexico