Lead Review

• Book: Like Fado
• Location: World
• Author: Graham Mort

Review Author: tripfiction

A collection of 13 stories from around the world. Some are set in England, others in Europe and there is a peek at life in Iraq and South Africa. ‘Like Fado‘ (Fado is a music genre associated with Portugal) – the title piece – is set in Lisbon.

These are vignettes of a variety of lives and of relationships, often in their mundanity, that pique interest. They are mainly set in the present and are beautifully observed, the detail of surrounding provides each story with colour and poignancy. The author clearly has a penchant for food and likes to detail epicurean adventures, as his characters move through their stories.

It is the detail of observation that really draws the reader in, and how life events, often beyond a person’s control, crowd in: one man in Rome travels to an area hit by an earthquake, a woman in Portugal is observing the progress of wild fires.

At times the humdrum feels lugubrious, as some of the characters contend with their lot in life.  Some of the characters drift through their days and experiences, others are up for a bit more adventure. For me these stories appeal for the quality of writing and the author’s gift to draw his reader in.

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