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Duende: A Journey Into the Heart of Flamenco
The music two guitarists beating out more Alboreás. The women took turns to dance in a frenzy, each trying to outdo the other. “Deep Song always sings in the night,” Lorca had written. It was the credo of the a rejection of the mundane, the ordinary, the life of the everyday man, embracing, rather, an extreme world – extreme passions, extreme feelings, the extremes of life and death. And it was a way of life I wanted to believe in – its excitement, its danger, the affirmation it gave you that you were different, and alive.
Destined for a sedate and predictable life in academia, Jason Webster was derailed in his early twenties when his first love, an aloof Florentine beauty, dumped him unceremoniously. Loveless and eager for adventure – and determined to fulfill a secret dream -- he left Oxford and headed for Spain, the country that had long captivated his imagination, and set off in search of duende , the intense and mysterious emotional state – part ecstasy, part melancholy – that is the essence of Spain’s signature art flamenco.
Duende is Webster’s captivating memoir of the years he spent in Spain pursuing his obsession. Studying flamenco guitar until his fingers bleed, he becomes involved in a passionate yet doomed affair with Lola, a flamenco dancer (and older woman) married to the gun-toting Vicente, only to flee the coastal city of Alicante in fear for his life. He ends up in Madrid, miserable and lovelorn, but it’s here that he has his first taste of the gritty world of flamenco’s progenitors – the Gypsies whose edgy lives and fervent commitment to the art of flamenco vividly illustrate the path to duende . Before long he is deeply immersed in a flamenco underworld that combines music and dance with drugs and crime. After two years Webster moves on to Granada where, bruised and battered, he reflects on his discovery of the emotional heart of Spain.
Destined for a sedate and predictable life in academia, Jason Webster was derailed in his early twenties when his first love, an aloof Florentine beauty, dumped him unceremoniously. Loveless and eager for adventure – and determined to fulfill a secret dream -- he left Oxford and headed for Spain, the country that had long captivated his imagination, and set off in search of duende , the intense and mysterious emotional state – part ecstasy, part melancholy – that is the essence of Spain’s signature art flamenco.
Duende is Webster’s captivating memoir of the years he spent in Spain pursuing his obsession. Studying flamenco guitar until his fingers bleed, he becomes involved in a passionate yet doomed affair with Lola, a flamenco dancer (and older woman) married to the gun-toting Vicente, only to flee the coastal city of Alicante in fear for his life. He ends up in Madrid, miserable and lovelorn, but it’s here that he has his first taste of the gritty world of flamenco’s progenitors – the Gypsies whose edgy lives and fervent commitment to the art of flamenco vividly illustrate the path to duende . Before long he is deeply immersed in a flamenco underworld that combines music and dance with drugs and crime. After two years Webster moves on to Granada where, bruised and battered, he reflects on his discovery of the emotional heart of Spain.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
About the author
Jason Webster
27 books93 followersJason Webster is a highly acclaimed Anglo-American author and authority on Spain whose work ranges from biography to travel, crime fiction and history. His books have sold in over a dozen countries, including the US, the UK and China, and have been nominated both for the Guardian First Book Award and the Crime Writers’ Association New Blood Dagger Award. He has been favourably compared with writers such as Bruce Chatwin (The Daily Mail), Gerald Brenan (El País) and Ernest Hemingway (Sunday Telegraph).
Webster was born near San Francisco and brought up in the UK, Germany and Italy. After finishing a degree in Arabic and Islamic History at the University of Oxford, he worked as an editor at the BBC World Service for several years before becoming a full-time writer and moving to Spain. He is married to the flamenco dancer Salud and they have two sons. They currently divide their time between Valencia and the UK.
Webster was born near San Francisco and brought up in the UK, Germany and Italy. After finishing a degree in Arabic and Islamic History at the University of Oxford, he worked as an editor at the BBC World Service for several years before becoming a full-time writer and moving to Spain. He is married to the flamenco dancer Salud and they have two sons. They currently divide their time between Valencia and the UK.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
December 12, 2013
Webster's account of his journey to Spain in search of spiritual nourishment and escape from the dreary, unhealthy life of academia treats of his painful struggle to become a flamenco guitarist, and his encounters with aficionados, Gypsies and Travellers.
Webster, naïve and at times irritating, is an unlikely guide on this journey, and his world-eating attitude is typical of the colonial tourist. I was shocked by his harsh account of the Gypsies he met, but he could not make me share his admiration for the drug-addled car thief. This is 'honest' but ignorant. It is clueless about disparities in ways of knowing. It is othering without 'judgement'.
Webster is comparable, in his self-important abjection, to Henry Miller. Many readers enjoy Henry Miller, so... fill yer boots.
Webster, naïve and at times irritating, is an unlikely guide on this journey, and his world-eating attitude is typical of the colonial tourist. I was shocked by his harsh account of the Gypsies he met, but he could not make me share his admiration for the drug-addled car thief. This is 'honest' but ignorant. It is clueless about disparities in ways of knowing. It is othering without 'judgement'.
Webster is comparable, in his self-important abjection, to Henry Miller. Many readers enjoy Henry Miller, so... fill yer boots.
April 16, 2011
Clinging to the memory of a flamenco performance in Granada, one evening on the hill of tombs with a view of Alhambra from above, I picked this book. Andalusia has introduced me to the art of flamenco. And I keep searching for words to describe that experience - the ultimate sublime feelings when you, the music, the dance, and the rest of the performance become one. Duende?
I would treat this book more as a memoir than a novel. It has its fine moments for me, especially when the setting moved to Granada. I like the scene when the author rehearsed his flamenco on a stonebench in the Generalife - jannat al-arif, the gardens of knowing. Suddenly the serene beauty of Alhambra - the palace of a thousand garderns - comes back to mind. Also the sounds of flowing water in most corners of it, just like the description of paradise in the Quran.
I do hope that this is not intended to be a novel. I sense that there is almost no plot and no destination to go to. I keep waiting for the punchline: whether or not the hero finds the "duende"; whether or not "the journey in search of flamenco" (as in the title) ever reach to a climax, whatever that is.
I would treat this book more as a memoir than a novel. It has its fine moments for me, especially when the setting moved to Granada. I like the scene when the author rehearsed his flamenco on a stonebench in the Generalife - jannat al-arif, the gardens of knowing. Suddenly the serene beauty of Alhambra - the palace of a thousand garderns - comes back to mind. Also the sounds of flowing water in most corners of it, just like the description of paradise in the Quran.
I do hope that this is not intended to be a novel. I sense that there is almost no plot and no destination to go to. I keep waiting for the punchline: whether or not the hero finds the "duende"; whether or not "the journey in search of flamenco" (as in the title) ever reach to a climax, whatever that is.
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November 29, 2013Unbelievable, and not just for the fraught, high-pitched, passive, square-ass writing. Unbelievable as in: I don't believe much of this. Where are the details? What's it like to steal a car for the first time? I mean, how does one go about stealing a car, really? What do you gotta do, especially in this day and age of anti-theft mechanisms, which are referred to, sort of, but there's no real description on how one outsmarts them. What's taking cocaine actually FEEL like? Like really FEEL like? What were the names of those venues you played when on your first tour with gypsies? Sans details, it makes this whole thing unbelievable. As in: hard to believe.
October 28, 2019
I enjoyed this book less than I thought I was going to. I had expected to be whisked away to Andalucia, the soul of Flamenco, but little of it takes place there. The author, having broken up with a girlfriend and recently left university, goes to Spain in search of flamenco with a desire to learn how to play guitar to accompany it. He starts on the tourist Costas before heading to Madrid and eventually spending some time in Granada. At times I was there with him, at others I felt detached and not that invested in his account.
Flamenco is indeed a mesmerising art form. My wife and I recently visited Seville, a stunning city of incredible architecture and a wonderful mix of its Islamic, Jewish and Christian past (although the brutal expulsion of its Muslim and Jewish residents after the 'Reconquista' is a sad reminder of our recurring inability to live together in harmony).
We saw Flamenco one night in a back street room. An audience of maybe twenty, watching four separate dancers perform individually, three female and one male, danced themselves into a trance as one man played guitar and two others sang in harsh tones in a way reminiscent of the muezzins calling people to prayer. The sound of the dancers' feet on the wooden stage was deafening but intoxicating, their moves incredible to watch. Maybe if I had read the book after seeing this, I would have enjoyed it more than I did.
Flamenco is indeed a mesmerising art form. My wife and I recently visited Seville, a stunning city of incredible architecture and a wonderful mix of its Islamic, Jewish and Christian past (although the brutal expulsion of its Muslim and Jewish residents after the 'Reconquista' is a sad reminder of our recurring inability to live together in harmony).
We saw Flamenco one night in a back street room. An audience of maybe twenty, watching four separate dancers perform individually, three female and one male, danced themselves into a trance as one man played guitar and two others sang in harsh tones in a way reminiscent of the muezzins calling people to prayer. The sound of the dancers' feet on the wooden stage was deafening but intoxicating, their moves incredible to watch. Maybe if I had read the book after seeing this, I would have enjoyed it more than I did.
February 20, 2022
Este livro veio-me parar às mãos no âmbito do jogo da “amiga secreta” que fizemos no @clubedeleituraslower.
O flamenco não é propriamente um interesse que tenha e por isso jamais leria este livro por iniciativa própria.
Mas gostei muito de o ler, não só por ser uma viagem a um mundo que desconhecia, mas acima de tudo por me revelar o nome de um sentimento e de uma emoção que já senti em certos momentos da minha vida e que de facto é um estado de alma avassalador… e que muitos procuramos sem saber… Duende!!!
O flamenco não é propriamente um interesse que tenha e por isso jamais leria este livro por iniciativa própria.
Mas gostei muito de o ler, não só por ser uma viagem a um mundo que desconhecia, mas acima de tudo por me revelar o nome de um sentimento e de uma emoção que já senti em certos momentos da minha vida e que de facto é um estado de alma avassalador… e que muitos procuramos sem saber… Duende!!!
January 24, 2020
Although I occasionally enjoyed this book due to a nostalgia factor (I lived in Spain for a few years), I came away from it with the solidified belief that cultural insight written by outsiders is often hollow and ultimately unsatisfying. If you're drawn to this book because you want a better understanding of duende, pick up Lorca instead.
January 16, 2011
Fantastic source of interesting facts about Spain and flamenco. The only thing I didn't like about it was its style. It seemed to me that the author didn't really know what he had wanted to write: the history of his own life or rather an informative guide book. Nevertheless, it's really worth reading if you want to focus on all the things flamenco and not the love story.
November 19, 2017
Amazing trip made by Jason into the real world of flamenco. Jason writes with such passion, and this comes across in the whole of his flamenco journey through Spain. I loved the range of characters and also the people he met along the way. Would definitely recommend to anyone with an interest in Spain and flamenco.
March 28, 2009
Can't remember when I read this really... Main character is rather annoying, as I recall.
February 11, 2017
Not a fan.
November 15, 2020
(Nonfiction November pick for the prompt "movement")
As a person who is fuelled by enjoying any sort of performing arts, I was really excited to snatch this book from my parents' collection when they were downsizing. I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed.
I loved this recollection of the author's time in Spain trying to learn the ins and outs of flamenco (the dance, the music and the "vibe) and to find the so-called duende, the feeling of flamenco / the catharsis. It was such a beautiful love letter to all sorts of flamenco, and also, what was more interesting to me, is that it became more of a constant questioning of: what percentage of successful artists / "geniuses" is talent and what percentage is skill and learnt tradition? can all types of a certain art form be considered as art or equally noble - if not, who decides? is everyone considering the "real" artist lifestyle the same? is the "duende" the same for everyone? - for the latter, I LOVED the "answer" given in the book, or at least the author's take on it ( ). Also, it imposed the question: is it worth dedicating your whole time or life to just one topic, just one secret to find - are you going to lose your life or parts of your life if you focus on just one thing?
I loved how it showed all different kinds of people, who, in their own right, and in their own minds, were artists, masters or connoisseurs of flamenco... the small town / village people who play or dance for themselves or for the occasional local event; the "sex, drugs and rock n roll" type wild touring players, the teachers who are all about technicality, the amateur collectors / afficionados / expert spectators-listeners...
I do appreciate and enjoy memoire-type books if they are more than merely an interesting story worth sharing, but it gives a little bit more to think about, and this book excelled at that for me.
However, the book does not become a heady, "hard-to-grip-your-head-around-it", far fetched philosophical rant... it is so easy to read and consume, and it was really funny as well! Not in a way where you feel that the piece of literature wants to market itself as a book in the humour genre, not like "gag here, gag there", but it was so effortlessly funny... some gags were thrown in organically in places you wouldn't expect it, making you laugh out loud. It really felt as if it came organically from the author's own personality.
(PS. Can we have an audiobook of this with Tom Hiddleston as the narrator, pretty please?)
As a person who is fuelled by enjoying any sort of performing arts, I was really excited to snatch this book from my parents' collection when they were downsizing. I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed.
I loved this recollection of the author's time in Spain trying to learn the ins and outs of flamenco (the dance, the music and the "vibe) and to find the so-called duende, the feeling of flamenco / the catharsis. It was such a beautiful love letter to all sorts of flamenco, and also, what was more interesting to me, is that it became more of a constant questioning of: what percentage of successful artists / "geniuses" is talent and what percentage is skill and learnt tradition? can all types of a certain art form be considered as art or equally noble - if not, who decides? is everyone considering the "real" artist lifestyle the same? is the "duende" the same for everyone? - for the latter, I LOVED the "answer" given in the book, or at least the author's take on it ( ). Also, it imposed the question: is it worth dedicating your whole time or life to just one topic, just one secret to find - are you going to lose your life or parts of your life if you focus on just one thing?
I loved how it showed all different kinds of people, who, in their own right, and in their own minds, were artists, masters or connoisseurs of flamenco... the small town / village people who play or dance for themselves or for the occasional local event; the "sex, drugs and rock n roll" type wild touring players, the teachers who are all about technicality, the amateur collectors / afficionados / expert spectators-listeners...
I do appreciate and enjoy memoire-type books if they are more than merely an interesting story worth sharing, but it gives a little bit more to think about, and this book excelled at that for me.
However, the book does not become a heady, "hard-to-grip-your-head-around-it", far fetched philosophical rant... it is so easy to read and consume, and it was really funny as well! Not in a way where you feel that the piece of literature wants to market itself as a book in the humour genre, not like "gag here, gag there", but it was so effortlessly funny... some gags were thrown in organically in places you wouldn't expect it, making you laugh out loud. It really felt as if it came organically from the author's own personality.
(PS. Can we have an audiobook of this with Tom Hiddleston as the narrator, pretty please?)
November 11, 2021
I wanted to like it. I am fascinated by the subject. But the author manages to insult, or at the very least dish out backhanded compliments, about everyone he describes. Everyone. Well, maybe two escaped his snark: the janitor and the young dancer at the last flamenco school he played guitar at. It becomes comical in a tragic way that made me what to vomit. I don't think anyone who reads about themselves in this book will be even slightly amused. The writing is okay but a bit lazy: his metaphors imprecise and his descriptions glossing over intriguing bits. As long as I'm being a critic I might as well also point out that the publisher/book designer opted for a font size that is so small that it was quite challenging to read. Still, I finished it, and enjoyed some of what I read, so it gets 2 stars instead of 1.
May 31, 2023
I found this book at an estate sale and bought it on a whim, having no idea that I'd just discovered what was likely to be one of the most influential books of my life. This book describes the author's pursuit of "duende", a difficult word to translate into English in the desired context but best described as charisma or passion; the indescribable feeling that brings you from just living life to feeling that life is worth living, or the difference between listening to music and FEELING it in the way that gives you goosebumps. In straightforward language and with unbarred transparency, the author puts into words the distinction of purposeful life that I've never found described before. I was taken on an incredible journey of love, music, and self-discovery.
September 28, 2023
De schrijver gaat in Spanje op zoek naar wat duende is, een geestestoestand, een soort vervoering, die de flamenco teweeg kan brengen. In Alicante, waar hij verliefd wordt op een getrouwde flamencodanseres, krijgt hij zijn eerste gitaarlessen. In Madrid belandt hij bij een groep zigeuners die hem opnemen in hun flamencogroep. Hij doet mee aan autodiefstallen, raakt aan de cocaïne, en zakt steeds dieper weg. Uiteindelijk belandt hij in Granada, waar hij met een wat oudere, excentrieke vrouw optrekt, en waar hij op een dansschool flamencolessen begeleidt. Het boek eindigt met een bezoek aan een concert van de beroemde gitarist Paco de Lucía. Goed geschreven, een bijzondere kennismaking met Spanje en de flamenco. Wel vind ik de avonturen die hij meemaakt soms wat onwaarschijnlijk.
July 30, 2019
An enjoyable and entertaining read: a combination of a young man's memoir, travel essay and his search for the heart and soul of Flamenco. There were times when I found myself wondered how much the author was embellishing the truth of his experiences and encounters but, as I was also learning lots about the history and culture of Spain, in the end I decided to suspend these moments of doubt and just enjoy the ride - although I did find myself feeling exhausted by some of his "high-octane" adventures!
I considered giving this story a 4* rating but it didn't quite rate that so I've given it 3* - but a more accurate reflection of my reading experience would be three and a half stars!
I considered giving this story a 4* rating but it didn't quite rate that so I've given it 3* - but a more accurate reflection of my reading experience would be three and a half stars!
September 30, 2017
Post University, Jason Webster has little idea of what he wants to do, other than discover Spain and immerse himself in flamenco. He succeeds in doing this, meeting some unlikely characters on the way, and becoming involved in illegal and dangerous activity too. I found Webster and his obsessive pursuit of flamenco hard to identify with, but this very obsessiveness means that the book from time to time conjures up vivid pictures of Spain and the Spanish.
I'm not going to try very hard to find any more books by Webster.
I'm not going to try very hard to find any more books by Webster.
January 17, 2020
This was coming-of-age autobiography crossed with a travel book about Spain. I thought the author had an engaging writing style and was able give a really good sense of place. Some of his adventures were eye-raising to say the least. I did struggle with his account of his activities in Madrid. It was the one part in the book where I began to his activities as rather self-centred instead of being a way to discover what was important to him in life. However, he sorted himself out and by the end of the book, he seemed to be ready to move onto the next stage in his life.
May 23, 2023
While the spirit of Flamenco, and the inspirational beauty of the concept of Duende, ring clear and strong throughout this book, the underlying story is so gritty, disturbing and difficult that I almost lost heart in reading it. Thus the 3 stars. Yes, people's lives are very difficult and can be absolutely as tough as the ones he describes, but it felt more like the author was wallowing in this, than letting it be in the background. Ultimately he redeems himself, and Duende emerges. Wish I could do a 3.5.
March 7, 2022
Entertaining for the first few chapters and then I must admit I lost interest and couldn’t keep reading. I did find it informative however on Flamenco as dance isn’t an area I’m particularly knowledgeable on and there was genuine passion for the subject conveyed through the narrative. I do wish there wasn’t repeated slurs throughout… this was not the most politically correct read
January 21, 2020
Took me a little while to get into the book, but once I did I was well and truly hooked! A very gripping and insightful story into flamenco music, dance, and the underworld that I had no idea existed...
October 26, 2022
Sain teada, mida tähendab tegelikult millegagi nii tegeleda, et sellest saab haiglane sõltuvus, ja kuidas suhtuda meeldivatesse teemadesse nii, et need tavapärast elu segama ei hakkaks. Lõppeks on ka flamenko rahateenimise viis ja "duende" tähendab igaühe jaoks midagi erinevat.
January 14, 2024
A journey inside a young lost man an outside a less know part of Spain. A little bit of Kerouac ... a pinch of Hemingway...
Overall a very interesting book that tell us about the story about fulfilling a passion... Even when it's strange and rare!
Overall a very interesting book that tell us about the story about fulfilling a passion... Even when it's strange and rare!
August 15, 2017
Madridin ajan kuvaus oli raskasta luettavaa, mutta sitten kirjan loppua kohti tarina taas liikkui parempaan suuntaan.
October 12, 2017
A true journey through Flamenco.
December 19, 2017
Having lived with Spanish Gypsies during my childhood, I have a deep seated love of Flamenco. This book brought back wonderful memories of my own. Beautifully written.
December 21, 2019
The author's journey as a teenager to Spain to fulfill his obsession with flamenco from Alicante to Madrid to Granada. A different sort of book. Really enjoyed it.
March 22, 2020
The best novel ever about Spain, the British in Spain and the Spaniards.
July 2, 2020
I loved this, easy to read and a good insight into flamenco from an outsiders perspective
November 24, 2020
For all the Spanish lovers it is book of obligatory.
January 7, 2021
I loved the evocative story telling and sense of Spain Webster conveys. The abrupt ending was disappointing but also in keeping with the books themes.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews