So begins a chapter in Jocelyne Guilbault’s ethnomusicological study of zouk, "Zouk: World Music in the West Indies". This highly informative book, while academic in nature, is far from a dry or uninteresting read. The author contends that understanding zouk is essential to understanding the phenomenon of "world music," since zouk is a major contemporary force in world music and is helping to shape economic, social and political change worldwide.

Ms. Guilbault’s interest stems from the fact that music is such a dominant factor in the lives of Caribbean people and zouk in particular has been at the core of Antillean’s preoccupations and interests for some time. The book chronicles how zouk plays an important role in the life of the inhabitants of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Dominica, and St. Lucia.

Zouk is distinguished primarily by two main features: Creole lyrics and distinctive rhythms.  However, the "arrival" of zouk on the world music scene is the product of a long and complex interaction of historical events, varying economic factors, social and political changes, and musical migrations in the Americas and Europe. The book, divided into three parts, traces this story and also provides a thorough analysis of zouk music itself.

Part I looks at the political, social, economic factors of the four islands and how they affect people’s perception of music, past and present. The musical scene of each island is described and how it impacts both listeners and artists is examined. The key role of the group Kassav’ in the birth and growth of zouk is examined in depth.

Part II looks at musical antecedents to zouk. A chapter each is devoted to the musical genres most influential on zouk: Guadeloupean biguine, Haitian compas direct, and Dominican cadence-lypso. These three chapters are written by experts in these musical styles and Ms. Guilbault offers a comparison of the viewpoints that traces musical influences of zouk within and outside these genres.

Part III looks at zouk in the mid to late 80’s and discusses aspects such as the music’s characteristics, lyrics, choreography, and production. The current state of zouk on each of the four islands is examined  along with zouk’s role in world music and in the construction of an Antillean cultural and national identity.

The book contains a wealth of information on zouk: music charts, lyrics (Creole and English), pictures, interview excerpts, historical facts, even a CD with examples of zouk and its musical antecedents! The main problem is that, even though published in 1993, it essentially ends its story around 1990, leaving more recent developments up to alternative outlets such as "The Beat" magazine and the "Zouk Archive"!

Zouk, while certainly having a broad impact in the Antilles, also reaches worldwide audience with its musical appeal.  For the Antillean reader, this book may offer new perspectives from other islands and maybe even stir up a debate or two about zouk and the cultural, social, political, economic or musical associations with it. For the non-Antillean (like this reviewer), this book offers a chance to understand the scope of zouk’s influence in the Caribbean and allow additional enjoyment and understanding beyond the obvious qualities and pleasures of the music itself.