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Death in the Afternoon Audiobook

Death in the Afternoon Audiobook, by Ernest Hemingway Play Audiobook Sample
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Read By: Boyd Gaines Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio Listen Time: at 1.0x Speed 6.50 hours at 1.5x Speed 4.88 hours at 2.0x Speed Release Date: January 2007 Format: Unabridged Audiobook ISBN: 9780743563536

Quick Stats About this Audiobook

Total Audiobook Chapters:

20

Longest Chapter Length:

82:31 minutes

Shortest Chapter Length:

15:30 minutes

Average Chapter Length:

29:02 minutes

Audiobooks by this Author:

56

Publisher Description

Ernest Hemingway's classic exploration of the history and pageantry of bullfighting, and the deeper themes of cowardice, bravery, sport and tragedy that it inspires.

Still considered one of the best books ever written about bullfighting, Death in the Afternoon reflects Hemingway's belief that bullfighting was more than mere sport. Here he describes and explains the technical aspects of this dangerous ritual, and "the emotional and spiritual intensity and pure classic beauty that can be produced by a man, an animal, and a piece of scarlet serge draped on a stick." Seen through his eyes, bullfighting becomes an art, a richly choreographed ballet, with performers who range from awkward amateurs to masters of great grace and cunning.

A fascinating look at the history and grandeur of bullfighting, Death in the Afternoon is also a deeper contemplation on the nature of cowardice and bravery, sport and tragedy, and is enlivened throughout by Hemingway's pungent commentary on life and literature.

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"terse as always; not surprisingly hemingway could appreciate the art of bullfighting with his fixation on death. the last chapter was lame, but overall a good book. too bad the humanists/liberals are ending bullfighting, calling it a "blood sport""

— Steven (4 out of 5 stars)

Quotes

  • “The book will certainly find its place on the shelves of Hemingway addicts…Action and conversation, as the author himself suggests, are his best weapons.” 

    — New York Times
  • “Ernest Hemingway, in the handling of words as an interpretation of life, is not a brilliant and ephemeral novillero, but a matador possessed of solid and even classic virtues.” 

    — Saturday Review
  • “Hemingway’s passion for bullfighting is perfectly mirrored in the strong narration of Boyd Gaines…The author is obviously impressed with men facing death, and Gaines does a wonderful job of creating drama and tension as the conflict of man versus animal plays out to its ultimate conclusion.” 

    — AudioFile

Death in the Afternoon Listener Reviews

Overall Performance: 3.413793103448276 out of 53.413793103448276 out of 53.413793103448276 out of 53.413793103448276 out of 53.413793103448276 out of 5 (3.41)
5 Stars: 6
4 Stars: 9
3 Stars: 7
2 Stars: 5
1 Stars: 2
Narration: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 0
3 Stars: 0
2 Stars: 0
1 Stars: 0
Story: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 0
3 Stars: 0
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1 Stars: 0
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  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " Wanted to be a Matedor after reading this, wish someone would write a contemporary version "

    — Christopher, 2/17/2014
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " Everything you will ever want to know about the science of bull fighting. "

    — Edrees, 2/15/2014
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " This book helped me understand and appreciate bullfighting as a cultural art form and pastime, and not merely an arena for torturing bulls. "

    — Angie, 2/15/2014
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " Made me go and see a real bullfight "

    — Wil, 2/15/2014
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " all you ever needed or wanted to know about bullfighting. maybe too much. "

    — Samantha, 2/13/2014
  • Overall Performance: 1 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " an ugly, criminal work. massively entertaining- a real charge. dismissive, prudish, I stand alone in the shade, waiting for the bloody ear, having thrown all the rotten roses I picked up last night. "

    — Hortense, 1/28/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " It is winter and thus time for Hemingway. This was not the book for me. The often misogynistic author described in lengthy detail the sport of tricking and killing animals, clearly disdaining any compassionate consideration of animal life. Yet, I liked the book, for the very reason that it challenged me to consider sport, animals, and death in a different way. There is something to say for bravery in the face of death or harm, whether of an animal or a man, and Hemingway said most of it in this book. "

    — Melinda, 1/24/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " 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 context. He correctly points out the distinction between an Anglo-Saxon/American pov which might find it all disturbing and disgusting and the Latin/Spanish mindset, which is not so squeamish (this written as various regions of Spain outlaw bullfighting). The epilogue, describing the sights, the people, the scenery, the smells, of Spain is marvelous, and you feel as if you are there. Again, Hemingway displays his powers of descriptive writing, showing him to be the superior writer of nonfiction of the 20th Century. What I didn't like - midway through the book he introduces "The Old Lady," a type of interlocutor he converses with on subjects such as bull fighting, venereal disease, William Faulkner, etc. She then disappears before the end. I have no idea what he was thinking and it would have been a better book without her. Maybe it was an attempt at humor. His gratuitous (in a book about bullfighting) insults of Faulkner are inappropriate here. Also kind of weird was the appendix with reactions of various people - including apparently his sons, and the prototype of Brett Ashley - to bullfighting. Some of it is libelous and I suspect some of the people are conflations or are not real. "

    — T.P., 1/13/2014
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " Don't read this unless you are really into bullfighting. "

    — William, 1/5/2014
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " this book doth send me siesta-ing everytime "

    — Mikael, 1/3/2014
  • Overall Performance: 1 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " totally overrated "

    — Cristina, 11/7/2013

About Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961), born in Oak Park, Illinois, started his career as a writer in a newspaper office in Kansas City at the age of seventeen. After the United States entered the First World War, he joined a volunteer ambulance unit in the Italian army. After his return to the United States, he became a reporter for Canadian and American newspapers. During the twenties, Hemingway became a member of the group of expatriate Americans in Paris, which he described in his first important work, The Sun Also Rises. He also wrote Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and The Old Man and the Sea, the story of an old fisherman’s journey, his long and lonely struggle with a fish and the sea, and his victory in defeat. He also wrote short stories that are collected in Men Without Women and The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories. Hemingway died in Idaho in 1961.

About Boyd Gaines

Boyd Gaines is an Earphones Award–winning narrator and an actor whose many film credits include Second Best, I’m Not Rappaport, Heartbreak Ridge, Fame, and Porky’s. He’s won two Tony Awards for performances in the The Heidi Chronicles and the musical She Loves Me. On television he has appeared in A Woman Called Jackie, A Son’s Promise, and in the popular series One Day at a Time.