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The Year the Gypsies Came
 
 
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The Year the Gypsies Came (Hardcover)

by Linzi Glass (Author) "Mother, Sarah and I arc in Mother's powder-blue bathroom ..." (more)
3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
RRP: £10.99
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Puffin (30 Mar 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0141382783
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141382784
  • Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 13.8 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 326,036 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Sunday Times
'Beautifully, powerfully and compellingly written...extraordinarily moving'

Observer
'This outstanding first novel arcs beautifully to its terrible climax and is deeply moving'

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Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
Mother, Sarah and I arc in Mother's powder-blue bathroom. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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The Year the Gypsies Came
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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Family Trauma, 1 Dec 2007
By kehs (Hertfordshire, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: The Year the Gypsies Came (Paperback)
This tale starts in Johannesburg in the late 1960s, during the years of Apartheid. We hear about how the Iris family take in house guests because they are trying to cover up their own unhappiness in their home. They have 2 daughters, 11-year-old Emily and her older sister, Sarah. Emily enjoys having these guests because whilst they have visitors her parents try to tone down their arguing. However, a group of travellers come stay and things don't go to plan and take a turn for the worse. The travellers are an Australian couple with two sons. At first, Emily and Streak become firm friends, and Sarah takes Otis, who is brain-damaged, under her wing. But then a dreadful tragedy occurs and nothing is ever the same again. Emily turns to their servant, Buza, who tells her his Zulu folk tales in an attempt to help her understand her problems.

This book covers many themes, such as abuse, rape, racial crimes and parental neglect, yet is immensely readable.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning, should be book of the year. , 5 Feb 2007
By charles1832 (london, - United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
I share the previous reviewer's surprise that this book has not made a major sensation and won all the prizes. I think perhaps we can put it down to the publisher not spending enough money plugging it rather than any fault in the book. It's stunning and should become a classic: I hope sanity prevails over the lack of hype and that it does find its place in teen literature. It is highly original in concept, exquisitely well written, moves at just the right pace, is full of wonderful and unusual characters. It's also the first book which ever made me realise how it felt to be a white person in South Africa during apartheid, even though this is just a peripheral part of the story. It tells of two daughters of warring white parents in South Africa. Their luxurious lifestyle and appealing surroundings seem sterile, and the children get their doses of reality and wisdom from the African servants - perhaps these are portrayed with just a tiny bit too much of a rose tint - and that's my only criticism. Into this life comes a wandering family - dad who is a wildlife photographer, Mum who was once a burning lady in a circus and wears a python round her neck, and two sons- a gross retarded one and an unhappy young one who yearns for a normal settled life. I won't give away the plot but it is full of feeling, tragedy, loss and love. This beautifully written book held my interest all the way through and sometimes I shed a few tears.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A Modern Day 'To Kill a Mockingbird', 9 Aug 2008
By Snapdragon (London) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: The Year the Gypsies Came (Paperback)
`The Year the Gypsies Came' is narrated by 2 year old Emily Iris. Emily lives in Johannesburg with her sister, Sarah, Mother, Father and two Zulu servants, Lettie and Buza, the night-watchman. Emily's home life isn't particularly happy; she wants to be closer to her mother and recognises that her family is breaking apart. Things do seem to become slightly better when a travelling family come to stay. Emily and Sarah make friends with the two sons, Otis and Streaker, but as Emily finds out more about the family she begins to understand that trouble is on its way. Emily takes solace in the company of Buza and the Zulu stories that he tells.

This is an incredible book, which seems to have been influenced strongly by both `To Kill a Mockingbird' and `Of Mice and Men.' I had no idea this book was for teens, and would say that it can be read and enjoyed by both teen and adult readers. As it is set in South Africa in the 1960s, there is also a political element to the book which adds depth and provides an incredible backdrop to the narrative. Adult themes are also dealt with sensitively, but this might mean that younger readers could find some scenes disturbing.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book; it even made me cry at the end, something that hasn't happened for years!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars dissapointing
I really didn't like this book - I couldn't imagin the Iris parents entertaining the gypsies it was so not their character to socialize with such rough necks... Read more
Published 12 months ago by A. C. Bradford

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
Having read reviews I thought I'd give this book a try but I didn't find it as appealing as some others did. I found it rather slow and very little really happens throughout. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Jo Public

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning
This book has got to be one of the best things I've read all year, and I read for a living! It is beautifully written, has great plot and pace, and provides a brilliant insight... Read more
Published 19 months ago by C. Hughes

4.0 out of 5 stars Heartbreaker
I couldn't put this beautifully and succinctly written book down till I had finished it. Linzi Glass manages to balance humour and horror to maintain a realistic atmosphere and... Read more
Published 23 months ago by K. O'Callaghan

4.0 out of 5 stars Painfully honest. A beautiful book.
I read The Year the Gypsies Came quite a while before it was published, and I did wonder what sort of an impact it would have on the Teens' and Adults' fiction market... Read more
Published on 2 April 2006 by M. Lee

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