[.ca] Pamplona: Running the Bulls, Bars, and Barrios in Fiesta ... (ISBN 0972122303)

The True Gen:
As anyone who has ever seriously experienced the fiesta of San Fermin can attest, Hemingway is not exactly the comprehensive guide you may have hoped for. Nor is Michener. Trying to describe the total gamut of the fiesta experience tends to reduce people to frustrated short hand cliches - "world's largest non stop party etc etc". Pamplona contains so many intertwining and contrasting elements that the not so simple attempt of trying to convey it in words becomes rather like the blind committee vainly struggling to get a collective notion of the elephant. One touches and describes the trunk. One checks out the ears... You get the idea. (Or, more precisely, you don't). Well, finally - here really is the guidebook. This is not the list of pensions, useful numbers, times of events reference book (for that, seek out the excellent "204 Hours of Fiesta"). But if you are looking for the one book that nails the experience, tells you what the whole thing is really about, what kind of journey you are facing, and how you will probably feel at the end of it - then look no further. Ray Mouton's book comes trailing a clutch of endorsements and a prefatory fistful of tall claims. It lives up to every one of them. As to form - the book is superbly designed. As to content - it never takes its eye off the ball. This is the richest and most illuminating account of fiesta that you can find. A remarkable feat.

The Benchmark Has Been Set:
"A Day in the Life of Fiesta" is another way to think of Mouton's account of the sometimes-overwhelming sensory experience of the Fiesta of San Fermin, a.k.a. the Running of the Bulls. The author's descriptive and literary talents allow one to vicariously experience both a day and the entire week of the infamous fiesta. It is perhaps cliché to say that Mouton has hit a home run or a bull's-eye with this book, but it is also highly accurate. I've attended fiesta many times over the past two decades and can confidently say that Mouton has brought this world-renowned fiesta to life with words - and as any veteran fiesta-goer will tell you, this is no easy accomplishment. In reading this book you will come as close as possible to feeling the immense energy of fiesta, of smelling, tasting, dancing, hearing and rejoicing in the fiesta experience without actually being there. For veterans it will spark fiesta flashbacks and a longing to return. For potential fiesta goers it may just provide enough of a description to catalyze you into finally buying that plane ticket. I first attended fiesta upon graduating college and those first few years were a blur of collegiate-style binging and revelry. Luckily I could remember enough about each year that I kept coming back. I had been infected with the fiesta spirit. In hindsight my only wish is that I had had a book like this one to read back then. What has taken so many years to learn and appreciate about the joys and beauty of fiesta would have been learned much faster with this account of and guide to the fiesta experience. Most people who have attended fiesta will usually avoid trying to explain the experience to the potential traveler and will respond with "Just go and see for yourself. You will love it." At last there is an excellent piece of writing to do justice to the "what is it like?" question. Mouton's literary accomplishment is highly commendable. The benchmark has been set. Veteran fiesta goers will have many "ah-ha" moments as they read and potential newcomers now have a starting platform from which they can maximize their first fiesta experience.

Pamplona: Hemingway would be proud of this book!!!:
There are many stories about Pamplona, some true, some not. Most are inaccurate. Mouton has found a way to report the History with the Present that makes it both valuable to historians as well as first timers. If you are a first timer - get this book so that you are prepared. If you go there often, get it as well. This way you won't have to struggle to remember everything - which is hard to do because it seems like one big wonderful dream. One could argue that Pamplona is better than anything Hemingway wrote, since it incorporates the history with the present day scene. Lastly, Mouton is an experienced runner and has helpful tips on how to run. Running gives you an experience that Hemingway never had. Enjoy.

At Last! The Essence of Fiesta:
I have been to the Fiesta of San Fermin every year since 1976. I studied and worked in the city, speak Spanish and know the place quite well. This is quite simply the best thing written on the fiesta of Pamplona in the English language since Mitchener put pen to paper. Why? There are three reasons. It is accurate. Here you will find ancient history and modern day lore that is plainly written and true. Mouton has gone back to the historical sources and not relied on hearsay. Of course there are anecdotes about the lives of Americans known to him who have passed through fiesta, such as the legendary Philadelphia born bullfigher John Fulton. But in this book the City of Pamplona and its inhabitants are the stars of the show. He describes the Amercian influence as "a drop of Coca-Cola in a barrel of wine". Perfect. It is beautifully written. The reader will find plain language but also subtle and moving prose poetry. He makes the whole experience come alive. Not just about the bullfight and the daily bull running but also the little things such as the booming of the drums and the way the dawn creeps up on the unsuspecting revellers. Page after page I smiled and thought. " I wish I had written that". It is superbly edited and designed. The photographs are world class. My advice is simple. Don't buy a copy. Buy three. One for yourself, one for a friend who loves Spain and one for a friend who has never been.

A Love Letter:
Some come to Pamplona in early July and fall in love with a festival, the Festival of San Fermin. Some poor souls go away without San Fermin capturing their heart. Many arrange their lives around their return to the eight days of Fiesta. This book is almost a love letter to Fiesta. I recognize the feeling. I have not missed a day for over 25 years. Although slower, I still run with the bulls at every opportunity. Ray Mouton enthusiastically came the first time and now returns time after time. Mouton presents a mix of factual and personal comments, reminiscences, and anecdotes about some of his friends. Through a personal prism, this book provides a good way to understand the attachment that someone can come to have to an annual event.