Shadow of a Bull - Rilegato

Wojciechowska, Maia

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 1199861022 ISBN 13: 9781199861023

Casa editrice: Atheneum, 1964

Riassunto

Manolo Olivar is the son of the greatest matador in Spain, Juan Olivar, who was killed by a bull. Because he is the son of such a famous torero, everyone expects Manolo to be a bullfighter. But, Manolo does not have the "aficion",ie. the love for corridas. He is even afraid of bulls. At twelve, he must fight his first bull. But no matter how much he practices, he lacks what it takes to be a matador. On the contrary, his friend, Juan Garcia, has the vocation to be a bullfighter. But nobody clearly seems to be giving him a chance. Manolo once meets a doctor at a bullfight who heals a large wound made by the bull's horns. He asks Manolo to help him. The young boy enjoys this very much and would rather become a doctor than a bullfighter. He thinks that what the doctor is doing is "the most noble thing a man could do". The day for the bullfight comes. Manolo shows great courage in overcoming his fear and successfully fights the bull in the first part of the corrida, where the torero uses a cape. But in the second part, where the torero is using the muleta and must kill the bull with a sword, he realizes that bullfighting is not his vocation. He offers the bull to his friend, Juan, who gets the chance of his life. The story ends with the old doctor who had guessed the desires of Manolo's heart, asking him to become his apprentice. Manolo is happy and at peace since "his father's life, bullfighting, would stay a part of him, as it always had been, but in a different way than anyone had planned". (A doctor is always present at a corrida.)

Su questo libro

About the Author:

Maia Wojciechowska's family fled Poland during World War II and emigrated to the United States after the war. She worked as an undercover detective, a motorcycle racer, a translator for Radio Free Europe, and a bullfighter before turning to writing. She was a friend of Ernest Hemingway, who said she knew more about bullfighting than any other woman.

From AudioFile:

Eleven-year-old Manolo Olivar has a painful secret: He's terrified of bulls. Unfortunately, his father was Juan Olivar, the greatest bullfighter in all Spain. How can Manolo find the courage to face his first bull and live up to the expectations of the townspeople of Arcangel? Manolo's personal quest for manhood in the looming shadow of a father whose memory has faded into folklore becomes both a fascinating adventure and glimpse inside the bullring of the Spanish torero. Francisco Rivela, an actor and native of Spain, reads with an intimacy perfect for young Manolo's darkly pained tone. At the same time, his crisp, haunting Spanish accent propels the reader into the world of fear and death that shrouds the dreams of every torero. Listening Library is to be commended for reviving this 1965 Newbery Medal-winning classic. P.E.F. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Atheneum
• Data di pubblicazione: 1964
• ISBN 10: 1199861022
• ISBN 13: 9781199861023
• Rilegatura: Hardcover
• Numero edizione: 1
• Numero di pagine: 165