An epic tome on the art and grandeur of Spanish bullfighting from one of America's greatest aficionados, Ernest Hemingway, who explicates the craft and spiritual intensity of this ancient European ritual through terse, journalistic, prose and rigorous scholarship. Not surprisingly, Hemingway is not terribly perturbed by the grotesque barbarity of the violence of bullfighting; Hemingway was an enthusiast of hunting and had little to no moral qualms about killing animals (and sometimes people). Ye More...

Everything you ever wanted to know (and not know) about bullfighting. If you've read Moby Dick, you'll have a idea about how an author can obsess about a particular human activity, in detail, and one goes along for the ride because in that obsessive examination is a clue to what the author feels is important in some aspect of humanity. Again, Hemingway is a sucker for the Spanish way of seeing life and death and courage. Hemingway, through bullfighting, somehow finds a florid display of people f More...

I wasn't really sure what to expect when I picked this up, but I thought if I were to read about bullfighting, Hemingway might be a good choice as a guide. I had no idea it would be so detailed.

I feel like I came away from it understanding the structure of a bullfight, the environment, the emotion. I was fascinated by his descriptions of proper killing, the work of the picadores and banderilleros (who I didn't even know existed before), and all the moves that a matador may perform, properly or i More...

http://andalittlewine.blogspot.com/2012/01/book-1-of-52-death-in-afternoon.html

I didn't really have any expectations when Carol brought me Ernest Hemingway's Death in the Afternoon as an unabridged audiobook from the library. I love Hemingway: the terseness that, in Death... sometimes approaches self caricature; the depth of thought and conviction beneath the simplicity of the story; the richly textured world his characters inhabit.

I never realized that I love Hemingway's sense of humor. It may More...

Very interesting book. Prior to reading I had no idea how intricate and complicated a bull fight was. Some of the steps and movements are ballet-like, with the added element of danger. At the time Hemingway wrote it, he refers to fact that spectacle had been cleaned up by padding horses the picadors rode, eliminating the sight of dead, gored horses in the the ring. To today's generation, such shedding of blood - horse, bull, and sometimes man - will seem barbaric, put Hemingway puts it all in co More...

The bullfight was every bit as controversial an institution when Ernest Hemingway's now much neglected Death in the Afternoon was first published in 1932 as it is today. The difference is that It may be closer to extinction today than it was then. At the very beginning of the book Hemingway writes:

I suppose, from a modern moral point of view, that is, a Christian point of view, the whole bullfight is indefensible; there is much cruelty, there is always danger, either sought or unlooked for, and

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Whatever one's views on bullfighting—even the author himself admitted that it was more tragedy than sport—this book must be considered preeminent in its field. If I had to reduce my Hemingway collection to one, this is the book I'd keep. It's a reference work (complete with glossary) that reads like a novel, and there's even ninety-plus pages of black-and-white photographs at the end that tell a stark and unflinchingly realistic tale all their own.

Hemingway's reason for writing the book was as c More...

I approached this book with some trepidation. I kept thinking about that religious saying, "hate the sin, love the sinner" but in this case, hate the subject, love the writer.
Death in the Afternoon was an exhaustive look at bullfighting in Spain. It was so exhaustive I felt overwhelmed at times and switched to lighter reading occasionally. Hemingway actually addressed this issue throughout by switching to anecdotes and non sequiturs as a change of pace. Most of these anecdotes took the form of More...

The great thing is to last and get your work done and see and hear and learn and understand; and write when there is something that you know; and not before; and not too damned much after. Let those who want to save the world if you can get to see it clear and as a whole. Then any part you make will represent the whole if it's made truly. The thing to do is work and learn and make it.

I bought this book because I cannot imagine any self-respecting literature enthusiast who does not own Hemingway' More...

This book is better in what it intends to do rather than what it achieves.
One should think that of all writers, Hemingway would be the ideal person to delve into the beauty and majesty of bull-fighting, and he certainly was knowledgible. The issue for me comes for several angles.

First, the book is in desperate need of structuring, and the aid of a skillful editor to help guide Hemingway. Also, there is a lot of critiquing of specific fighters that are repetative and mean nothing to those nowada More...

First of all: Ferdinand made a smart choice!

I couldn't and didn't follow the technicalities of bullfighting,
which Hemingway loved as others love to follow football or baseball
statistics. But his character analysis is great--of bullfighters, bulls,
and also of spectators with their range of reactions. He strings a sketchy
narrative on an old lady who loves her first bullfight and wants him to
explain it all. When she needs a rest from that subject, he spins some stories for her, including a lo More...

I'm not sure how to rate this. Hemmingway doesn't apologize for the bloodshed or shy away from uncomfortable topics. He's well acquainted with the injury and death to both animals and humans, and it doesn't temper his enjoyment of the sport. His enthusiastic interest in the art and technical aspects of bullfighting is contagious.

The writing is up and down, mostly solid Hemmingway with occasional moments of desperately needing an editor. The strongest writing and the most interesting maybe in th More...

Honestly I took up this book going by the title and thought it to be some murder mystery! ;) But it turned out to be somewhat similar , but not as I thought. There was murder and there was thrill. But the book was non-fictional and an exhaustive explanation and view on famous or notorious Spanish Bullfighting.

I am reading Hemingway after a long time and I couldn't recollect what kind of an author he was. He seems to be somewhat interested a bit too much in himself or his writing. But I have to More...

I am very hit and miss with Hemingway, seeming to really enjoy or dislike his work. "The Sun Also Rises" is probably within my top ten for "Literature" and enjoyed other works such as "The Garden of Eden," yet I also have not cared more for other stories such as "For Whom the Bell Tolls." Sadly, "Death in the Afternoon" falls into the later catagory. The subject of the book-- informing the reader about bullfighting-- is not my favorite by any means, I find the sport to be cruel and unneeded, how More...

Hemingway does what he promises - talks (and talks) about bullfighting. Some aspects are overdone - lists of contemporary fighters and their strengths and weaknesses and venues etc, and grow tiresome. Other aspects are left barely touched, such as the training and apprenticeships of bullfighters. The book is very informative however, with great illustrations. The comprehensive glossary is insightful for those not fluent in Spanish, and is punctuated with Hemingway's understated humour. I nearly More...

Qualcuno pensa che questo libro sia legato al supposto machismo di Hemingway e al suo amore per un passatempo deprecabile come le corride. Molto probabilmente o non ha letto il libro, o lo ha letto con pregiudizio. Questo libro, un po' romanzo, un po' saggio, un po' racconto di viaggio e guida turistica, è soprattutto un'analisi dell'umanita, di un certo tipo di uomini e donne, dei loro vizi e vezzi, della loro personalità e del loro atteggiarsi verso il mondo, oltre che una raccolta di pensieri More...

I read this mostly to understand the fascination with bullfighting, which today (at least for Americans in Pamplona) seems like a deadly spring break vacation (for the bulls anyway). For Hemingway, and perhaps for Spaniards since the practice began, bullfighting represented a controlled way to defy death, to be God-like in taking a life, and somehow trandscending immortality, even if temporarily. (Those of you out there that study group dynamics, it seems as simple as the biblical practice of sc More...

This is the book that turned me on to Ernest Hemingway. I simply could not put this book down. As a person who was raised attending bullfights in Mexico, I appreciated his writing on the art of bullfighting, the history of it, the people of Spain and Mexico who embrace it, as well as its history and origins. He also delves into the role of each participant in the arena, from the banderilleros, the dreaded and much despised picador, to the ultimate showdown between the matador and the bull. In a More...

Igen ender jeg på en middelkarakter. Sine steder skriver han så nostalgisk og lyrisk, at jeg læser linjerne igen og igen - man så andre steder rabler han bare derudaf som en ophøjet anmelder som ved bedst.

Det var spændende at stifte bekendtskab med tyrefægtning og høre om arbejdet med kappen og komme i detaljen med kunsten, men rimelig ligegyldigt at høre om 100 forskellige navne og en hurtigt oprids af deres karriere.

Havde han dog bare fokuseret på de gode historier og foldet dem mere ud, så More...

For anyone who has ever been interested in bull fights, Death in the Afternoon is for you. Hemingway's explanation of the toreo is filled with humor and wit, but also gives an informative perspective on Spain's oldest cultural spectacle. While it is sometimes difficult to separate Hemingway's casual jokes with actual facts, this piece of non-fiction is some of Hemingway's most humorous writing.

While some may not be interested in this book because they disagree with the treatment of the animals, More...

I think that if I had been reading a paper copy of this, or even just listening to it in the car, I would have been bored. But I had it on whilst I painted and re-painted twenty (20) kitchen cabinet doors, and I enjoyed it.

I think I really like Hemingway. And I learned a lot about bullfighting. And now I would like to see a bullfight; but since Hemingway bemoans the current state of "modern" bullfighting in 1932, who knows what it's like now.

The narrator was pretty good, by the way. At first I More...

I have listened to this book after finishing The Sun Also Rises, and in spite of one being fact and one being fiction, the fact was an organic continuation to the novel. The Sun Also Rises depicted bull-fighting through the charming metadore, Romero. Death in the Afternoon is a full introduction to what Hemingway calls the Impermenant Art of Bull-fighting. I learned a lot on bull-fighting through the book, but Hemingway who was clearly swayed by the exhotic sport had not managed to sway me too b More...

I picked this up cheap and second hand as a student and I was pleasantly surprised how interesting it was with its details of how matadors train and learn their technique from mock fighting with cows, to the set up of the ring and how the event is structured to ensure the death of the bull.

There is no interest though in the whys of bull fighting, why this sacrificial event developed in Spain and why not elsewhere and a couple of totally irrelevant anecdotes suggests that the author had a strange More...

Not his best. I should point out that I've only read The Sun Also Rises and A Moveable Feast. I should also point out that I didn't read this for the bullfighting, which I have zero interest in, but for his ruminations on Spain, writing, and life. Seeing as how the bullfighting was the point--but it's supposed to serve as a metaphor for the latter, right?--this probably hampered my enjoyment. I should also, also point out that I only skimmed this book. So you'd probably be right to take my respo More...

totally awesome. i want to go to mexico or spain again as soon as possible.

Es tracta d'un assaig sobre la tauromàquia pensat originalment per explicar tot aquest món als americans. De fet el llibre no va ser traduït al castellà fins fa pocs anys tot i que és original del 1932. Hemingway es mostra irònic davant algunes situacions però sovint adopta un punt de vista objectiu, reflexionant tal com ho faria una persona sense prejudicis de cap mena que mostrés curiositat. La manera com descriu "la tragèdia" en si, desprèn una gran passió per les corridas que no pot ni vol a More...

A very thorough analysis of bullfighting and its societal tangents in Spain during the early 20th century. It even contained a glossary of bullfighting terms and a schedule of events in Spain's various cities. Hemingway was often cruel in his criticism of the matadors and seemed to get some delight from the squeamish reactions of novice spectators at seeing horses disemboweled in the corrida. This book had been added to my list with all of Hemingway's books after enjoying his novel Garden of Ede More...

Hemingway continues to amaze me as an author, and if there is any voice I want writing my non-fiction, it is certainly his, but that is not to say that I need to read an entire book about the ins and outs of bull fighting. This truly could be "Bull Fighting for Dummies: A Complete and Boring History of the Brutal Activity Considered to be an Art Form According to Mr. Hemingway" if that title weren't too long. I tip my hat to the man for taking on something so risky and experimental in form, but More...

It reminded me of HELLS ANGELS by HUNTER S THOMPSON. Hunter was a fan of hemingway. and interestingly i understood where his incisive insightful writing about subjects comes from when i read this book about bullfighting. Interestingly just like HELLS ANGELS this book is also about someting society condisers uncool. But you cant help but fall in love in a way with bullfighting and its deeper good aspects of honor, bravery etc. of course it isn't good for animals and hence has been banned. But thi More...

I got about halfway through this - and I would like to read the rest someday, but it doesn't have much of a narrative to keep you moving along, so I think it will be something I continue to dip into. The Dangerous Summer also contains some great writing on bullfighting, and is set around the narrative of Hemingway's travels one summer and a rivalry between two great bullfighters, which makes it more engaging reading. I would start with that, and if you want to read more about bullfighting, then More...