Your wonderful book evoked many memories and feelings.
Thank you for making me smile, making me cry, and making me ache to return again some day to the land of my ancestors...
- John Roche

I cannot believe how someone who only came to Arranmore for the first time in 1979 can pretend to know so much about the place. No wonder there are so many inaccuracies and mistakes!

I returned from my vacation where I read Fado. WOW! It was a fascinating story, made most vivid since I have visited the west of Ireland 6 times in the past 8 years and spent time in Donegal as well as on the Aran Islands which I am sure are similar to your heritage. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and think that you might consider a wider dissemination if possible. What a gift to your son who asked for it.

Kind regards,

David Bernstein, Santa Anna, CA

FADO - A REVIEW.

The painstaking research is evident in this raw, honest memoir, which has two very interesting parallel chronologies- Ireland, and the USA. It really is fascinating to trace the history of two communities. It grips the reader and holds one's attention to the very last page.

Kevin O Donnell paints an acutely accurate and vivid series of pictures with wonderful descriptions of people and places -in Arranmore and in Mundelein, Illinois, his hometown. We are carried along by the flowing narrative and as we walk the journey with him it is not always pleasant.

It is in his account of life for him as a child that Kevin excels. The wonderful innocence of youth is beautifully narrated. We laugh and cry in almost equal measure at his escapades. The memoir is brilliantly crafted; the descriptions jump off the page. It is also searingly honest.

There is an Irish phrase that springs to mind:- "Bonn an fhrinne searbh"- truth is bitter.
But there is no bitterness in this memoir- just an acute understanding of the never ending struggle of his parents and Kevin's unquestioning love for them which shines through like a beacon.

My one small criticism is the use of the Irish language. A large number of the words are misspelt- but perhaps, as a native Irish speaker I am being too pedantic.

This is a must read book for anyone interested in history. Buy this book, read it, absorb it, then read it again. It is a terrific book from a gifted writer.

Kevin, you have left Rory and all of us a real treasure.

Aidan Gallagher,
Co-author of "Arranmore Links, The Families of Arranmore with stories and some history"

It seems to me that any praise that is for your book comes from people that do not know about Island life and in particular life on Arranmore Island because if they knew how you rubbished peoples charactors and hurt so many people they too would be discusted and ashamed to know you. If you were any way decent you would post an appolagy to the people of Arranmore that you have hurt its just a pitty that you feel you have done no wrong.

I just wanted to write and thank you for putting your memories and thoughts in your book. Like your music I consider it another gift from you. With similarities in our heritage, family circumstance and age your words and experiences are close to home. You have a deep caring and respect of those places our fathers have walked and the battles they fought. While reading and walking with you in Mundelein, I walked with my brother through my neighborhoods and thought deeply of my Irish roots.
Thanks for talking about alcoholism and its destruction. I hope that future generations find a way out through knowledge or peace through recovery. I also pray that the church to which I am eternally bonded finds peace as well.
Thanks again Kevin for sharing, reminding, loving and entertaining.

Who wants to know about boring Mundline. Most of the extracts of this is copied from other books that are also inacurate.How can anyone who spends a few days in a place write such a load of nonsence. Most of all the wait for their parents to die before putting pen to paper. I would guess you were quite troubled when you tried to write this rubbish. I would say to you now to withdraw it out of respect for your parents

Kevin O'Donnell is a master storyteller. His ability to weave history with his personal accounts make Fado a marvelous read. Kevin has a phenomenal knack of bringing the rich tapestry of Arranmore to life with a combination of frankness and warmth. Anyone who has heard him read passages from his book at signings can see that he has a genuine affection and true passion for the people and land he writes about. I highly recommend this book!

Hi Kevin I have just read your book i thought i had reason to praise you until i came across the disgusting bag of lies you had wrote.You must of been totally out of it to write such nonsense.You have some neck on you to charge what you are charging for your fantasy stories. Homer simpson would talk more sense than what you have wrote.Good riddence Kevin!

kevin as an author i thought you would have the sense to have accurate info in your book. from what ive read its lies and total stupidity. you should beg forgiveness for the lies you have told. you are certainly not welcome back to arranmore everybody here is disgusted with your lies. Go bury yourself in a decent book.

Irish Books and Plays in Review
by Frank West, Irish American News
August, 2009

Fado: A Memoir of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

This is a book we can all identify with. The author, Kevin ODonnell, returned to the place in Ireland where his family came from: Arranmore Island in Donegal. He tells why his family left Ireland and came to the U.S. The author also includes poignant memories of growing up in (then) rural Mundelein, Illinois.
..This is a vast, sprawling book of Irish history, about Arranmore Island in particular, and the authors personal remembrances of growing up in a distant Chicago suburb. It contains many golden nuggets of Irish history and of the Irish-American experience.

Frank West, Irish American News

This is a book about fathers and sons, triumphs and tragedies, history and heritage. Many of you will know Kevin as the founder of Arranmore the well-known Chicago band. Now I realize where he took his inspiration from for the many songs he wrote and performed. Brilliant book, I loved it. Well done Kevin, you make me proud to be Irish.

Shay Clarke, WDCB Radio, Chicagoland

Not worth a comment

A pathetic effort. What a total insult for all of us islanders. How dare you....

Anyone who buys this book will find it boring childish and without foundation. Take my advice leave it on the self.

What a terrible book totally boring.As Condy Cooks daughter all he has written is total lies.
What a great father and husband a few bad years wiht drink,mainly because of people like Kevin ODonnell i see as a worthless old man using his parents for his failure in life .Kevin you are not welcome back to Arranmore. Trying to copy Frank Mc Court never in a lifetime your wife Colleen needs her head seen to. I feel sorry for you to try and put great people down.

Fado is a wonderful story of a man and his family-of-origin's physical, emotional, and spiritual growth. Through humor, determination, and pain, Kevin O'Donnell has drafted a book that is a testament to the American spirit. Wonderfully written and enjoyable to read. It will be of particular interest to those who come from Irish backgrounds or who have known and loved people of Irish-Catholic heritage."

Martin L. Rohling, Ph.D.
Professor
Director of Clinical Training
Department of Psychology
University of South Alabama,
Mobile

I waited in anticipation for the arrival of Kevins book and its arrival did not disappoint! So much of my Donegal reading and research centres on documents and records, any and all, that I can lay my hands on, which is quite a feat at times, considering my dear Donegal ancestors managed to get themselves about as far from Donegal as they could, without falling off the planet New Zealand. These sources, though providing in-depth and sometimes fascinating insights into Donegals history and structure, were missing one thing for me the flesh on the bones of these Donegal people.
I have devoured books by Samus Grianna, Charles McGlinchey, Packie Manus Byrne and Patrick Campbell, as well as stories by Annie Bhn and Seumas MacManus. Now here was a new book, which promised that flesh, while at the same time marrying the past and the present of two communities, separated by distance, but united by their origins in the people of Arranmore Island, Donegal.
Did I say already that the books arrival did not disappoint? It certainly did not it also distracted, engrossed and was a thoroughly enjoyable read, if not experience. Kevin has written in a way that makes you want to keep reading, just to learn what happened next. And, it is written honestly, with no blemishes glossed over. At times it is funny, frustrating and uncomfortable, but that is what life is. At the same time, you are being educated being fed historical events from Ireland and the USA in a way which is enjoyable and effortless to absorb.
I commend Kevin for his book and definitely recommend it to anyone with an interest in Irish/American history. Well done Kevin!

Lindel Buckley, New Zealand
Donegal Genealogy Resources
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~donegal

I absolutely loved this book. The stories made me laugh and cry, and although I couldn't put it down, I was disappointed when I finished it - I didn't want it to end!
I've never been to America or Donegal but the places were so beautifully described I could picture them clearly and hopefully soon I'll be able to visit Burtonport and Arranmore.
The stories were a wonderful way to learn about the lives of you and your family and because all of the people in the book were so clearly portrayed, I also became interested in the lives of your friends and neighbours!
This is a wonderful book with beautiful stories and photographs.
Thank you very much.

Susan
Edinburgh, Scotland

Loved the book.
Great trip back to childhood. I loved learning about Mundelein and the island of
Arranmore. Sad history was presented in a way that I enjoyed reading, not
devastated by its truths.
I laughed alot, cried alot and felt a part of it all.
Have recommended it to my friends and they loved it too.
Thank you for taking the time to write it.

Thank you