Duende: A Journey Into the Heart of Flamenco

I`m still reading this book as I type this...am halfway through it and it`s a very pleasant read. Very interesting, and as being an aficionado myself it shows a very intimate look at Jason`s journey into flamenco. It describes very much the story of one finding himself. Freeing yourself and chasing your dreams instead of living the life you`re caught in or that is expected of you. Jason seems to be a great storyteller and never goes on for too long, describing things in the most excruciating detail, like many authors. Again, a very nice book and I`m sure even enjoyable for people who are not too familiar with flamenco. I`m glad I ordered this book! Viva Flamenco!!

I have been the Flamenco correspondent for Classical Guitar magazine for a decade, and for Guitar International for a decade before that; and everything Jason Webster says about Flamenco here seems to me absolutely accurate, with the piffling exception of a couple of misremembered names. (I think the Pedros Habichuela and Pinto should both be Pepes, but that could just be my ignorance). But if your object is to find out about Flamenco, then this is not the book to read; the classic in that regard is Donn Pohren's The Art of Flamenco. The present book is less about Flamenco than it is about the author, but I don't regard that as an obstacle. What is certain is that he is a born story-teller; and if his narrative ends up portraying him as rather self-centred, at least he has the grace to realise it and the honesty to admit it. Jason Webster is not the first to have found life in the anglophone world empty, and to have sought its meaning in Flamenco. He is, however, the first (as far as I'm aware) to write such an account after the Spanish way of life changed so drastically (following the death of Franco). If your budget will run to it, read Gerald Howson's The Flamencos of Cádiz Bay first, and then this. Both are unputdownable.

This is one hell of a book. The guy goes to Spain, learns flamenco guitar, ends up hanging out with some Gypsies, takes a few blows and then comes out on the other side wiser and clearly having packed in some important life lessons that we could all learn from. The writing is subtle, perhaps even symbolic at times, despite being non-fiction. I've lived in Spain, and this guy clearly knows about flamenco - I've never read a better description of the spine-tingling feeling this music can give you. He might have given us more history, but there's just enough for the uninitiated. Don't listen to the detractors - this is the real thing.

Many non-Spaniards have discovered a strange need to learn flamenco guitar, or dance, and have been drawn into the culture of Andalusia, especially the gipsy culture. Jason Webster is one more, and he does not make any special claims about his talent. His first-person narrator is a naif, a handsome but insecure young Englishman who journeys into that culture much further than most outsiders do. He realizes in the end that flamenco is only a step in the journey. "Duende" is a much absued word, but Webster uses it fairly. This book goes about as fast as the cars that his gipsy friends steal to supplement their earnings. It also has a short but excellent discography. Ole ole!

My daughter bought me this book as she knows how much I love anything to do with Spain and Latin America, and, oh boy! did it deliver. It tells the story of the writer's experiences in the Flamenco underworld, with everything from a love story with a flamenco dancer to car chases and a real Gypsy wedding. I couldn't put it down, in fact I read it in just two days. Wow! The most exciting thing I've read in months.