Reading as Research.

Update 7/31-09 I quit. I started reading other books. Maybe I'll finish this some day.. But for now, it's just not motivating me ..




UPDATE 6/11/09
I'm re-reading this now and it is a s-l-o-w read. I guess it seems a bit too intentionally instructive, if you know what I mean.. Like the author is wanting the reader to agree with him about the Gypsies: ('Aren't they cool, Wasn't it cool of me to run away with them? Don't they impress you with their cunning ways/lying and trickery? Aren't I cool for being so open minded?") Uh, no, Mr Yoors, that stuff doesn't impress me. I guess back when I was 18 I thought it was cool;the whole idea of running with a band of Gypsies seemed like such an adventure. Intentional deception, trickery, and the wandering nomad life are not ways I approve of nor do I find them inspiring. I am learning a bit about the habits and customs of these groups.. but I am finding this book reads more like an anthropology study.



I've had this book for over 30 years ( an earlier printing of course). My sister read it in College, and I read it a long time ago, I think when I was 18 years old.. I loved it then but wonder how I'll feel about it now.. so I'm rereading it to find out. Sometimes it is can be interesting to reread books you liked years ago, and find you have a very different reaction to them now.

Gypsies is a true story of a boy who ran way from home, (with his parents permission!) when he was only 12 years old- to live with a band of Gypsies. He lived with them for I think 10 years. Then he wrote this book about his experiences.
I think later Jan Yoors became an avante garde artist of sorts, making tapestries with his two wives (!) Yoors died young and his wives continue his tapestry art. ( )

I saw this book recommended in The Week magazine and ordered a copy from Amazon. I was disappointed. I found the adventure this young man had very uninterested and terribly boring for the majority of his tale. I found it especially hard to come to grips with the fact that his parents just let him wander off and live with these people, who I am sorry to say, appear to be a very worthless bunch of vagabonds. I am old enough to remember groups of them coming through out town, in old broken down trucks (not wagons) and they were, indeed a shady bunch to say the very least. ( )

Reading because of the mess in France. Ok, finished. It feels authentic, but I'm not sure of the credibility of the author. And of course it's about 70 years ago. It was easy enough to read if I suspended disbelief and didn't question - I never knew exactly what was going on; it wasn't coherent.... But there were enough tidbits to make it interesting and I do feel that some of what I learned was real enough to be of value. ( )

The blurb on the back cover of this book says, "He (Yoors) is the first person to write about Gypsies as an insider..." I beg to disagree. Many years ago I discovered the books of George Borrow, a 19th century self-taught linguist, who lived among the gypsies and wrote at least two books about them. The books were {{Lavengro}} and {{Romany Rye}}. The Borrow books are much more informative and better written than Yoor's book. Writing came as a natural gift to Borrow, and his love of the gypsies comes through easily in his writing. I get the feeling that Yoors is not a "naturally gifted" writer, and although he means well, the writing comes across as almost clinical. The gypsies are a most interesting people and deserve to be written about. You won't find the George Borrow books in bookstores, so I give Mr. Yoors 3 stars for bringing light to an important group of people. "Misto kedast tute, pal," as a Romany Rom (gypsy) might say. ( )