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Hemingway's Classic Portrait Of The Pageantry Of Bullfighting. Still considered one of the best books ever written about bullfighting, Death in the Afternoon reflects Hemingway's belief that bullfighting was more than mere sport. Here he describes and explains the technical aspects of this dangerous ritual, and "the emotional and spiritual intensity and pure classic beauty that can be produced by a man, an animal, and a piece of scarlet serge draped on a stick." Seen through his eyes, bullfighting becomes an art, a richly choreographed ballet, with performers who range from awkward amateurs to masters of great grace and cunning. A fascinating look at the history and grandeur of bullfighting, Death in the Afternoon is also a deeper contemplation on the nature of cowardice and bravery, sport and tragedy, and is enlivened throughout by Hemingway's pungent commentary on life and literature.… (more)
This is a book that I read in an effort to understand Hemingway's mind, not his art as a novelist. t was the last step in my journey away from his work. He was obcessed with his own "Manliness", and had little real desire to see human nature as complex and compelling. this is not what I am interested in, as egotism of this depth is seldom seen since Hemingway's generation. I am glad interest in his novels seems to be fading away. The short biographies of the matadors of his day are mildly interesting, and the image he had of the Spanish cnaracter appears to be not very applicable to the latin world today. All in all, this is an interesting artifact but limited in appeal. ( )
I would read this whenever I had some red wine or chorizo handy, hence why it took nearly a year to finish. There are some great meditations on the art of bullfighting here but as you’d expect it’s so mired in anachronistic histories and technique that it really isn’t worth the bother of reading the whole way through. Hemingway even seems to realise how tedious the work is by shoving in a contrived dialogue with an old lady and speaking about Faulkner and how to write at some points. I read this book the way you’d hate fuck an ex girlfriend, fuck you Hemingway. ( )
This work has challenged a number of my views about life and death and culture and globalisation. Regardless of one's thoughts on the topic of the book, Hemingway's ability to weave dialogue and stories into a polemic while creating a historical document is almost classical. This book is rather like reading a history of the ancient events of The Colosseum written first-hand. The only difference with this book is the photographs. ( )
"Bull-fighting, one infers, became a hobby with Mr. Hemingway because of the light it throws on Spain, on human nature and on life and death . . . . Action and conversation, as the author himself suggests, are his best weapons. To the degree that he dilutes them with philosophy and exposition he weakens himself."
At the first bullfight I ever went to I expected to be horrified and perhaps sickened by what I had been told would happen to the horses.
Quotations
I believe, after experience and observation, that those people who identify themselves with animals, that is, the almost professional lovers of dogs, and other beasts, are capable of greater cruelty to human beings than those who do not identify themselves readily with animals.
The matador, from living every day with death, becomes very detached, the measure of his detachment of course is the measure of his imagination and always on the days of the fight and finally during the whole end of the season, there is a detached something in their minds that you can almost see. What is there is death and you cannot deal in it each day and know each day there is a chance of receiving it without having it make a very plain mark. It makes this mark on every one.
There is sometimes a long time between great ones and those that have known the former great ones rarely recognise the new ones when they come.
Last words
To see bullfights in November or December, Mexico City is the place.
Hemingway's Classic Portrait Of The Pageantry Of Bullfighting. Still considered one of the best books ever written about bullfighting, Death in the Afternoon reflects Hemingway's belief that bullfighting was more than mere sport. Here he describes and explains the technical aspects of this dangerous ritual, and "the emotional and spiritual intensity and pure classic beauty that can be produced by a man, an animal, and a piece of scarlet serge draped on a stick." Seen through his eyes, bullfighting becomes an art, a richly choreographed ballet, with performers who range from awkward amateurs to masters of great grace and cunning. A fascinating look at the history and grandeur of bullfighting, Death in the Afternoon is also a deeper contemplation on the nature of cowardice and bravery, sport and tragedy, and is enlivened throughout by Hemingway's pungent commentary on life and literature.
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Legacy Library: Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway has a Legacy Library. Legacy libraries are the personal libraries of famous readers, entered by LibraryThing members from the Legacy Libraries group.
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