Shadow of a Bull

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1416933956 ISBN 13: 9781416933953

Publisher: Aladdin, 2007

Manolo was only three when his father, the great bullfighter Juan Olivar, died. But Juan is never far from Manolo's consciousness -- how could he be, with the entire town of Arcangel waiting for the day Manolo will fulfill his father's legacy?

But Manolo has a secret he dares to share with no one -- he is a coward, without afición, the love of the sport that enables a bullfighter to rise above his fear and face a raging bull. As the day when he must enter the ring approaches, Manolo finds himself questioning which requires more courage: to follow in his father's legendary footsteps or to pursue his own destiny?

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