Sign in with Facebook
Florence (Lefty) MacIntosh's Reviews > Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey
Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey
by
by
Florence (Lefty) MacIntosh's review
bookshelves: non-fiction, history, social-issues, cultural, 2013, reviewed, favs-recent
Jan 23, 2013
bookshelves: non-fiction, history, social-issues, cultural, 2013, reviewed, favs-recent
There’s always been a mystique surrounding Gypsies, this book takes a good stab at separating truth from fiction. Trust me; the real story is every bit as fascinating as the folklore. This is a great introduction to their culture & history; educational, shocking, often heartbreaking and highly readable.
By living amongst them, Isabel Fonseca was able to do what few outsiders have accomplished, provide a glimpse into the way of life of a highly secretive people. Observations on their superstitions, traditions, spiritual life (or rather lack of) and the unenviable role that woman play in their culture. Women are admired for being witty, ribald & rude, do all the work and are married off at the offset of puberty. Men appear to have all the authority but women possess the darkest & most forbidding powers.
The writing is pretty uneven, she kept changing her focus � what you get is a sociological / historical / political thesis & personal travel journal all rolled into one, includes some great photography by the way. One moment it’s a compassionate account of their day-to-day lives, of her experiences travelling through post-communist Eastern Europe, captivating stuff. The next it reads like an academic paper, you might do some skimming. She is prone to making sweeping statements about 'all gypsies' but in fairness her research seemed sound, and her passion for the Roma is indisputable.
Anyway, somehow it all came together & just worked. If the topic interests you at all I’d definitely recommend it. 3 ½ stars rounded to 4
I was left with little faith in their continuation as a distinct culture, but then what do I know? Despite all the cards stacked against them they’ve survived over 1000 years through sheer resourcefulness, tribal solidarity and what I believe is their major strength � courageous defiance.
“Many Gypsy songs speak of rootlessness and the ‘lungo drom�, or long road. Of no particular place to go, and of no turning back.�
""
By living amongst them, Isabel Fonseca was able to do what few outsiders have accomplished, provide a glimpse into the way of life of a highly secretive people. Observations on their superstitions, traditions, spiritual life (or rather lack of) and the unenviable role that woman play in their culture. Women are admired for being witty, ribald & rude, do all the work and are married off at the offset of puberty. Men appear to have all the authority but women possess the darkest & most forbidding powers.
The writing is pretty uneven, she kept changing her focus � what you get is a sociological / historical / political thesis & personal travel journal all rolled into one, includes some great photography by the way. One moment it’s a compassionate account of their day-to-day lives, of her experiences travelling through post-communist Eastern Europe, captivating stuff. The next it reads like an academic paper, you might do some skimming. She is prone to making sweeping statements about 'all gypsies' but in fairness her research seemed sound, and her passion for the Roma is indisputable.
Anyway, somehow it all came together & just worked. If the topic interests you at all I’d definitely recommend it. 3 ½ stars rounded to 4
I was left with little faith in their continuation as a distinct culture, but then what do I know? Despite all the cards stacked against them they’ve survived over 1000 years through sheer resourcefulness, tribal solidarity and what I believe is their major strength � courageous defiance.
“Many Gypsy songs speak of rootlessness and the ‘lungo drom�, or long road. Of no particular place to go, and of no turning back.�
""
Sign into Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ to see if any of your friends have read
Bury Me Standing.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
January 23, 2013
– Shelved
February 19, 2013
–
Started Reading
February 28, 2013
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-20 of 20 (20 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Rosemary
(new)
-
added it
Jan 24, 2013 04:36PM
This looks interesting, Florence. I am going to mark it to be read, too.
reply
|
flag
Rosemary wrote: "This looks interesting, Florence. I am going to mark it to be read, too."Does, doesn't it Rosemary. I don't know anyone who's read it - maybe you'll read it before I do, will watch for your rating.
Not sure when I will het to it, but I will read it!
Sounds really interesting. I read an autobiography of a gypsy recently. Also I watched a couple of episodes of My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. Not exactly high-brow anthropology but...
Petra X wrote: "Sounds really interesting. I read an autobiography of a gypsy recently. Also I watched a couple of episodes of My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. Not exactly high-brow anthropology but..."Petra, it's great - I'm pretty sure you'd like it. Like you most of what I know about gypsies is from movies / pop culture - now I want more. Fascinating people.
I grew up around gypsies and went to school with some, one for years.
Petra X wrote: "I grew up around gypsies and went to school with some, one for years."I've never known a gypsy, very few where I live, would like to though. Work with a Hungarian that's got pretty STRONG opinions...They sure have the decks stacked against them, that's all I can say to him, that and would you at least read the damn book... Anyway, it's well researched - and a balanced fair portrayal I thought.
There were always gypsies around when I was growing up. There was the knife man who came to sharpen the knives, the rag and bone men who collected stuff you weren't going to give to a jumble sale, women who magicked the moles from your garden to next door, the ones who worked on the construction sites... They are not at all an unknown quantity to me, but their culture is.
Roma hip-hop? I had no idea, cool link. Nice review, I know nothing about them. Think I'll read this.
Fiona wrote: "Roma hip-hop? I had no idea, cool link. Nice review, I know nothing about them. Think I'll read this."I'd dance to it:)
Good for you for your hungry mind to lead you to exploring an exotic culture. Keeping the language alive must be a big deal with very little written tradition. E.g. Hebrew survives, but oral Yiddish has dwindled. I bet the Romany language drifts a lot due to their living in so many different countries.
Michael wrote: "Good for you for your hungry mind to lead you to exploring an exotic culture. Keeping the language alive must be a big deal with very little written tradition. E.g. Hebrew survives, but oral Yidd..."You are right Michael - but I think their language (a mix from different countries) will survive at least as long as the Roma do. In Europe anyway, most still speak it, another stumbling block with the push for education. Their teachers don't speak Roma and the children naturally fail / drop out.
You know, I can see you really liking this book - it covers alot of ground. A taste:
'It is commonplace among nomad-watchers that sedentary people have a fear of travelers not because they are strangers; we fear them because they are familiar; supposedly they remind us of who we really are. What Herbert Spencer called our ‘restlessness inherited from ancestral nomads� (and it was he, not Darwin, who coined the term survival of the fittest)'
And another 'The uniform ignorance among Gypsies about their slave past is striking. But the Gypsies may also feel that slavery,- like their fate under the Nazis (Romanians knew nothing about it either) is just another episode in a more or less continuous narrative of persecution. This is an indication of the status of Gypsies here and in the wider world: an indication of invisibility. Among Roma, though ‘forgetting� does not imply complacency: its tenor is one of � sometimes buoyant � defiance.'
Petra X wrote: "There were always gypsies around when I was growing up. There was the knife man who came to sharpen the knives, the rag and bone men who collected stuff you weren't going to give to a jumble sale, ..."Petra, missed this post till now. Do you remember anything more about what you were saying 'magicked the moles from your garden to next door' Did it work? Maybe they just poured water down the mole holes when your back was turned:) Anyway - love stories like that.
Nice intriguing quotes. Thanks for the follow-through. So the author uses the term "Gypsy". Confusing that in some sectors, these people don't like that label. (Perhaps similarly, some First Nation Peoples and Native Americans hate the label Indian, and some don't mind)
Michael wrote: "Nice intriguing quotes. Thanks for the follow-through. So the author uses the term "Gypsy". Confusing that in some sectors, these people don't like that label. (Perhaps similarly, some First Nat..."Thanks Michael, can answer that. Many Gypsies like the term Gypsy because they are defiant, not ashamed; and also because they don’t believe a new name will change the way people see them. The name Roma causes confusion (because so many Gypsies live in Romania, and it's got nothing to do with Romania)plus so many countries have different names for them. According to this author anyway...
Loved this book. It's an ethnography, so those academic passages mentioned above are part of the deal. But her keen observant eye and her ear for dialogue are what make the book special. I've always loved books that transcend their genre with brilliance.
Elizabeth wrote: "Loved this book. It's an ethnography, so those academic passages mentioned above are part of the deal. But her keen observant eye and her ear for dialogue are what make the book special. I've alway..."Thanks Elizabeth, my formal education is a little lacking:) Now that I've googled ethnography I see it's the perfect description, appreciate you explaining it.
Good review, Florence. I still hope to get to this book very soon.
Rosemary wrote: "Good review, Florence. I still hope to get to this book very soon."So glad to hear that Rosemary. Don't think you'll regret reading it at all, will watch for your review:)
Judy wrote: "Glad to see you enjoyed this book, too. Very educational and dispels some myths about gypsies."I learned quite a bit from it. You're the 1st of my friends to have also have read it, glad you found value in it as well, Judy.
