Friday, October 06, 2006
Shadow of a Bull
by Maia Wojciechowska
This one's the tale of a matador in the making. Manolo Olivar is nine years old, the son of a famous bullfighter who was killed when Manolo was three. Everybody in his town is expecting him to follow in his father's footsteps, to bring glory back to his community. A group of bullfighting experts take him under their collective wing and start preparing him for his first match, to be held when he's twelve--just like his father. The question is, does Manolo want to be like his father? To the book's credit, it is not an easy question to answer. Manolo struggles with the question, all the while as he is being pushed along to a future others have chosen for him. It's a well written book that does a good job of expressing the thoughts and feelings of the characters and making the art of bullfighting come alive. My kneejerk reaction is to consider the sport cruel and bloodthirsty, but the story made me understand and halfway appreciate the views of the aficionados. It's a book y'all should check out.
LibraryThing link
This one's the tale of a matador in the making. Manolo Olivar is nine years old, the son of a famous bullfighter who was killed when Manolo was three. Everybody in his town is expecting him to follow in his father's footsteps, to bring glory back to his community. A group of bullfighting experts take him under their collective wing and start preparing him for his first match, to be held when he's twelve--just like his father. The question is, does Manolo want to be like his father? To the book's credit, it is not an easy question to answer. Manolo struggles with the question, all the while as he is being pushed along to a future others have chosen for him. It's a well written book that does a good job of expressing the thoughts and feelings of the characters and making the art of bullfighting come alive. My kneejerk reaction is to consider the sport cruel and bloodthirsty, but the story made me understand and halfway appreciate the views of the aficionados. It's a book y'all should check out.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut
// posted by John @ 2:42 AM 
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