Post by Tex on Jan 11, 2011 13:29:00 GMT -6
The Dangerous Summer was Ernest Hemingway's last book published while he was alive. Hemingway's health was in decline and he was acutely aware of this when he wrote the book.
Several strange coincidences led to the writing of The Dangerous Summer. In the hundreds of years of Spanish bullfighting, the two greatest bullfighters in the history of the sport, Juan Dominguin and Antonio Ordonez, were both at their peak in the 1959 season. The rivalry was made more interesting by the fact that they were brothers-in-law. Ernest Hemingway, arguably the greatest writer of the time, just happened to be an old family friend dating back to the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s. All of this was against the backdrop of a sport that was in decline but rallied to witness this great duo and a great writer who was on his last legs but rallied to write this fabulous story.
The author alternates between moments of great suspense in the ring and family touches such as opening Christmas presents as the families tour around Spain to the various bullfighting venues.
An excellent read, IMHO.
Several strange coincidences led to the writing of The Dangerous Summer. In the hundreds of years of Spanish bullfighting, the two greatest bullfighters in the history of the sport, Juan Dominguin and Antonio Ordonez, were both at their peak in the 1959 season. The rivalry was made more interesting by the fact that they were brothers-in-law. Ernest Hemingway, arguably the greatest writer of the time, just happened to be an old family friend dating back to the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s. All of this was against the backdrop of a sport that was in decline but rallied to witness this great duo and a great writer who was on his last legs but rallied to write this fabulous story.
The author alternates between moments of great suspense in the ring and family touches such as opening Christmas presents as the families tour around Spain to the various bullfighting venues.
An excellent read, IMHO.