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3 Reviews
Original version of the book is better
If you are lucky enough to find an older (ex. first edition) copy of this book, it is better. Maybe the author thought that the addition of more photographs would be better, but in my humble opinion, they took away from the experience. The content of the stories was amazing, though.Read full review...
You will enjoy living with the gypsies in this book.
I bought this book as a research project on the Gypsies for our women's group. What a great read this was. The author Jan Yoors, living and experiencing the lives of the gypsies, not being one himself. His being accepted and traveling with them to and fro.I really enjoyed this book and didn't want it to stop- but it did, when his life with them did. He really knew how to put you right there when things were happening and they always did. Much better than other books that really didn't get into their way of life as a matter of fact and not just jogging from one place and group to another, helter skelter.Read full review...
Fantastic! A must read!
Jan Yoors’, a Belgian born into a well-to-do but incredibly open-minded family, essentially ran away from home at the age of twelve to live with a band of gypsies on-and-off for about six years. Yoors’ account of the extended gypsy family he lived with and about gypsy culture and thought in general is outstanding. Clearly sympathetic to these misunderstood and constantly persecuted group of people, Yoors’ mixes in his personal accounts with broader discussions deftly. The entire narrative is real, identifiable, and doesn’t come across as condescending (towards the the gypsies or the “gadjes.”) I also thought that he did a very human and lucid job of expressing the fears, the defense mechanisms, and the self-preservative and protective instincts of the gypsies (which are often misunderstood and have led to much of the slanderous beliefs about them.)Read full review...