THE BRAVE BULLS

by Tom Lea ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 20, 1949

An extraordinary and very unusual book, but a book nonetheless which will take some degree of salesmanship to overcome the idea a good many readers would have that a book about bullfighting might appeal to someone else- but not to them. I confess I should have been in that category before Hemingway broke down my resistance. But Tom Lea does something Hemingway never did for mehe takes me inside the minds of the people intimately connected with bull fighting. Not only the matador, his hero, Luis Bello, but the manager the family, the boys who practised in the equivalent of the sand lots, the villagers, the people of Mexico, the ring managers, the breeders of the ""brave bulls"". A slender thread of story, as Luis Dello, idol of the ring, meets fear for perhaps the first time. A slow-healing leg injury betrays him; the violent death of an older matador, followed in quick succession by the motor accident that costs the lives of his manager and the girl he loves all combine to destroy that love of danger, confidence, sense of security. And the story ends with a scene of high drama... Tom Lea is already known as an illustrator. In this, his first book, he has created a unity of expression in superb drawings and a fascinating text. Don't overlook this.

Pub Date: April 20, 1949

ISBN: 0292747330

Page Count: -

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1949

Categories: FICTION