Customer Reviews

A History of the Portuguese Fado

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Considering this book's price, I had assumed it would be a very large volume. Instead, my first surprise was to see a tiny book of only 114 pages. Many other surprises, most of them negative, followed. As a musician, a Portuguese guitar player, and a person very involved with the fado, this book shocked me. If it had been entitled "A Little Bit of History About the Early Recording Industry in Portugal With a Tiny Bit More About the Fado" then perhaps it might be acceptable. As is, the title is a misnomer.

There is very little written in English about the fado, but this book is not the way to learn much. If you wish a book in English that speaks of the fado, with well-researched information and musical examples, written by a man who really knew his stuff, look for a copy of "Portugal A Book of Folk Ways" by Rodney Gallop. It's out of print, but you can still find it. It's a definitive work on Portuguese folk customs and music documented by Mr. Gallop (a true scholar, researcher, and writer) before much of them have mostly disappeared.

In this book by Vernon, which in those chapters actually dealing with the fado relies extremely heavily on the writing of Gallop, you will find little new and also quite a few errors. For example, Mr. Vernon speaks of something he calls "fado falar" which I assume he confused with "fado falado" (spoken fado) and is not a standard fado form. Information on great fadistas and guitarristas is many times reduced to talk of litigation by recording companies. Puzzling items are thirteen inexplicable pages of a chronology of the history of Portugal beginning with 2000 BC; the Glossary which contains many terms not encountered in the book, with many incorrect definitions and misspellings; the Discography which lacks most of the fado recordings during the last 30+ years; and the included CD never mentioned in the book with the only information on its contents on the dust cover.

Writing style is uneven and sometimes confusing in its lack of logical progression from one area to another. The extremely heavy reliance on Gallop is distressing and the many typos, and misspellings should have been caught by an editor or proofreader.

Approximately one third of the book is devoted to a chapter called "The Media Industry" and lists contracts, negotiations and maneuvering between recording companies and lawyers.

Don't waste your money on this book by Vernon. If you want to read about fado, look for the Gallop book or do research on the Web. If you want to hear fado, spend your money on some good recordings of which Amazon.com has many.

Paul Vernon really has researched the Portuguese Fado. The first and most important quality this author commands is enthusiasm. Working from his chance encounter with some old Fado records in San Francisco over a decade ago, Vernon tells of his subsequent journey through the magic which is this Portuguese jewel. Fado, as Vernon explores, is a national music older than any other modern-surviving folk (eg Tango, Rumba, etc...), whose origins are as contested and unidentifiable as its definition. Saudade, the main feeling in the soul of Fado, is a Portuguese term with no translation into any other language. Some people refer to it as spleen, lament, longing, yearning and/or unachievable desires. It is an emotion, a desire, a sixth sense.

Vernon's history of Fado is almost an ethnography, which is at once academic (hitorical/anthropological) and also popular in style and authorship. Once having introduced the magic of this music he so obviously loves, he talks us through the instruments of the Fado: the portuguise guitarra and viola; the places claiming Fado as their property and cultural identity (namely, Lisbon's old hills and Coimbra up in the North). The final chapter redirects its gaze to the Portuguese diaspora, namely in the Americas.

There are some criticisms to this book. It is not as complete in breadth or depth as it could be. For example, Fado has very modern-day popular expressions which are extremely important in the contemporary Portuguese culture. Also, in his chapter on diaspora, Vernon largely ignores the Portuguese first, second and third generation-descendants around Europe and elsewhere who left around the time of the revolution.

However, this book is a must for anybody who has a true interest in the Portuguse Fado and its history. Importantly, Vernon includes an interseting (but dated) Discography for those who wish to hear some of this fantastic song. For others, who want to follow-up some research into the Fado, Vernon has helpfully included some useful addresses to point you in the right direction. The hope is that more anglophone versions of the histories, geographies and cultures of the Portuguese Fado emerge.

After reading an intriguing review of this book in the London Times Literary Review, I was moved to purchase the book. I have been a particular fan and student of the fado for more than 30 years, and admit that I am highly judgmental and critical of accuracy in detail. This book did not dissapoint this critical reader. It is worth every penny of its rather steep price - and more. Mr. Vernon gives the best detail view ever published in the English language on this intriguing, quintessentially Portuguese genre. He truly not only knows his subject, but he thoroughly to his soul grasps the essence of fado. A truly remarkable and memorable journey. I read the book straight through, and was sorry to put it down when done. Highly, highly recommended for any lover of Fado.