What do you think?
Rate this book
A Circle of Sand
Circle of Sand
254 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1968
1 person want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 7, 2024
It got very tense for me towards the ending. You see, I first read this book in the 1990s as a young teenager. I found it on an old shelf where my dad stored his old university books and magazines in our country estate (not as posh as this sounds lol).
Luis Cortez, the greatest living Matador in Spain that time is retired, wealthy, and bored. A dangerous combination. He lives on the outskirts of Madrid in a large house (with expensive though tasteless furniture exposing his humble upbringing) with Mapy his wife/childhood friend - a quiet, religious woman, baby son Miguelito, Chucho - his faithful servant from his bullfighting years who followed him into retirement, and a nanny. Ideal and comfortable...maybe too comfortable. But Luis was not satisfied. He missed the danger and excitement of the ring, and the adulation of the crowd.
In those days (mid 20th century), Matadors were the top celebrities in Spain, like premium league footballers in England or Hollywood stars in the USA. With the status came women attracted to their dangerous work, and men who wished they could be them. This is how Luis met Margot Lee, a beautiful American film actress before he married Mapy. But like the stereotyped beautiful actresses of that time, she was temperamental and unpredictable, often playing her male companions against each other. She detested patriarchy, and how men treated her like they owned her.
I loved everything about this novel - the dramatic characters, vivid food descriptions, the humor, and the action in the ring. I had forgotten how the book ended so I spent an anxious few hours racing towards the ending, hoping, and praying (like Mapy) to the Virgin Maria...and were our prayers answered?
I will let YOU decide...I recommend this book, especially if you enjoy bullfighting action. I am going to read Barnaby Conrad's "Matador" next.
Luis Cortez, the greatest living Matador in Spain that time is retired, wealthy, and bored. A dangerous combination. He lives on the outskirts of Madrid in a large house (with expensive though tasteless furniture exposing his humble upbringing) with Mapy his wife/childhood friend - a quiet, religious woman, baby son Miguelito, Chucho - his faithful servant from his bullfighting years who followed him into retirement, and a nanny. Ideal and comfortable...maybe too comfortable. But Luis was not satisfied. He missed the danger and excitement of the ring, and the adulation of the crowd.
In those days (mid 20th century), Matadors were the top celebrities in Spain, like premium league footballers in England or Hollywood stars in the USA. With the status came women attracted to their dangerous work, and men who wished they could be them. This is how Luis met Margot Lee, a beautiful American film actress before he married Mapy. But like the stereotyped beautiful actresses of that time, she was temperamental and unpredictable, often playing her male companions against each other. She detested patriarchy, and how men treated her like they owned her.
I loved everything about this novel - the dramatic characters, vivid food descriptions, the humor, and the action in the ring. I had forgotten how the book ended so I spent an anxious few hours racing towards the ending, hoping, and praying (like Mapy) to the Virgin Maria...and were our prayers answered?
I will let YOU decide...I recommend this book, especially if you enjoy bullfighting action. I am going to read Barnaby Conrad's "Matador" next.
Displaying 1 of 1 review