DEATH IN THE AFTERNOON

Rating:
Summary: The Perfect Introduction to Bullfight
Review:
If you are looking for informative stuff on bullfighting then there you go: this book will do. Now, if you plan to read this book because you're into Hemingway and have no specific interest in bullfighting, then you may get bored. I personally have no interest in bullfighting and despite all the explanations and understanding I got from this book I still consider the corrida a thing that should not exist, simply because inflicting pain on beings who can feel it is plain wrong no matter how sophisticated you make it, no matter what Nobel prize winner praises it.

The thing to know is that this book is not solely about bullfight. That's where those of you really interested in Hemingway will find their interest. There are a couple of things in this book that you'd not expect, such as some short stories and some dissertations on art and what it is to write. Hemingway compares bullfight to writing in some passages and the area of death in relation to people is dealt with to some extent.

I would not recommend this book unless you want to know about bullfight. I read it because I HAD to, if you ask me.

Rating:
Summary: Ritual Death
Review: "Death in the Afternoon" is Hemingway's guide to bullfighting. No doubt for aficionados it's very dated now (the era he describes is the 1920s and early 1930s), and it's very opinionated, albeit with humour and pathos thrown in.

I thought it was interesting that Hemingway thought the era of bullfighting he witnessed was a "decadent" one, falling far below the standards of the past. He did recognise that nostalgia is dangerous in that every era is condemned as inferior to it predecessor. However, I recall reading somewhere that bullfighting in Spain is now in decline (for example a bullring in Barcelona I think is being converted to some other use). Perhaps not in Hemingway's time, but later, bullfighting might have commenced a terminal decline. I don't know.

Like many non-Hispanics, I was perplexed about what attracts people to what is essentially a ritual slaughter of an animal for public entertainment - it seems more apt for books on Roman history than for the modern world. However, Hemingway does succeed in answering that question, depicting bullfighting as an event which lies closer to art than to sport, putting particular emphasis on the human need (or the need of some humans) to place themselves close to death. Death is thus dealt with in real terms rather than ignored. Also, man can act as a pseudo-God - dealing out death to the bull. Thus man comes to terms with mortality and perhaps immortality at the same time.

Whether or not you buy all of this is up to you. I would still shy from watching a bullfight (even on TV in Spain), not being able to get over the gruesome nature of the event. Nonetheless, after having read "Death in the Afternoon", while not condoning bullfighting, I feel nearer to understanding it. And of course us non-Hispanics should not bee too condemnatory of our Hispanic cousins: after all, I live in a country where wealthy people dress up in scarlet costumes, get on horses and chase foxes around the countryside with a pack of hounds with the intent of tearing the beast limb from limb. Our own house is not in order. Not all British people like foxhunting, not all Hispanic people like the corrida.

G Rodgers

Rating:
Summary: You cant help but love this book.
Review: Death in the afternoon is a lucid account of the Spanish bullfight which is one of Ernest Hemmingways fine books that he released i would recommened this book for anyone looking for a cultural diverse book and to people who like looking at things that at first they dont have a clue about (like me and bullfighting). When i picked this book up all i knew about bullfighting was the blindingly obvious facts such as the matadors and how bulls are attracted to red alone etc... but you would be suprsised as to how detailed the sport (if you could call it that) is, and how brutal the consequances of bullfighting may be. I've only ever read this book by Ernest Hemmingway but was impressed by what it had to offer, Hemmingways passion for bullfighting is clear in this novel and the detail and focus on Spain involved is always prevelant so this is a book thats definatley worth the read an empathic book that should not really be missed.

Rating:
Summary: A death will occur this afternoon, will it be man or animal?
Review: Even Hemingway was wary of bullfighting when was first introduced to it by Gertrude Stein in the early part of the 20th century. He tells of his suspicion in the first pages of this book and invites the reader to join him in his exploration of this old Spanish tradition. I have enver been to a bullfight, but after reading Death in the afternoon, I am curious to see at least one now and feel that I will have a better than average understanding of what is happening in the ring. While it may be somewhat outdated, as the book describes many of the matadors that existed at the time of writing... there is enough real description of the ceremony and the outcome of many matches that it makes no difference.

The theme is interesting and as with most hemingway books is found in a title with more than one meaning.

A" death will occur this afternoon, will it be man or animal?"

That is the question to be answered with each and every bullfight. That is the reason millions of people attend every year. That is the reason Hemingway became and aficianado of the sport. Read this book and fund out what bullfighting is really all about. No sugar coating here.

Rating:
Summary: The fine art of bullfighting
Review: 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 even. 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.

Rating:
Summary: magnificent
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Great Writer. Horrific, outdated material.
Review: Hemmingway may be a classic - but that doesn't mean this book has any place in literary history.

How can an intelligent person defend a blood sport between man and animal that is unfair from the get-go? In bullfighting, the bull, whether he wins the fight or not, will always be sent to a gruesome death. It is a hideous, cruel sport that every Spaniard and supporter, should be ashamed of. Why it has not been outlawed, is a disgrace.

Burn this book!

Rating:
Summary: Introducing the Bull Fight to Potential Fans
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Not Typical Hemingway
Review: I got this book for Christman two years ago. At that point in my life I was infatuated with everything Hemingway and assumed that this was a novel about bullfighting. Well, it's not. But, if you read it with an open mind, you just might want to see a bullfight for yourself. Good style, reminds me of Mark Twain's "Life on the Mississippi".

Rating:
Summary: Absolute Drivel
Review: I read this book for the literary circle at my high school, and we unanimously declared it the worst thing we had ever read. It had no structure, so it appeared to be a mixed-up jumble of thoughts. Since there was no structure, the author strays off the "topic" (supposedly bullfights) quite frequently into little discussions about "venereal diseases", which he claims are relevant as they are a cause of death to many bullfighters.

Perhaps if you have a Spanish background or love bullfighting, or possibly Ernest Hemmingway, it is possible you could relate to this book and enjoy it.

Please note that our lit. circle read other books by Ernest Hemmingway. Those books, including "A Farewell to Arms", "The Old Man and the Sea", and "The Sun Also Rises", are definitely worth the read. Just because you liked other books by the same author, please do not assume you will like this one. I LOVED "The Old Man and the Sea" and "The Sun Also Rises", but I couldn't stand this book.