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Jul 30, 2014lukasevansherman rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
The more I read of Hemingway, the less I like him. For such an iconic American writer, he rarely wrote about America (the Nick Adams stories are a notable exception) and most of his best-known books are set in Europe or the Caribbean. Begun as an article for Life, this is a kind of sequel to his earlier bullfighting book, "Death in the Afternoon." Set in Spain, it's both autobiographical and journalistic, covering a bullfighting season that was marked by a heated rivalry between two matadors. I know nothing about bullfighting and don't feel I came away from this book knowing much more, although Hemingway clearly thinks he knows a lot about the subject. The writing is dull and flat and nobody really emerges as an interesting character, Hemingway included. Though it was written shortly before he killed himself, it wasn't published until 1985 and so I guess you cut it some slack since he didn't have the final say on the manuscript. Introduction by James Michener. My favorite book on bullfighting remains "Ferdinand the Bull."