Gypsy Boy

Gypsy Boy: My Life in the Secret World of the Romany Gypsies by Mikey Walsh      288pages

Excellent Book!   Mikey Walsh tells the real down and dirty side of Romany Gypsy life.   He shares some of the lingo Gypsies use as part of their special language that they do not share with non-Gypsies, he also tells what it is like in the very male dominated lifestyle of Gypsy life.   Gypsy women are treated like princesses growing up and are expected to marry between the ages of 14 and 18.   If not married by 18 they are considered spinsters and it is hardly ever done for a Gypsy man to consider marriage to a girl that old.    Gypsy men are taught to be tough from about the age of 7 years old when they are taught to fight and work along side their male relatives.   Mikey's family had held the prized role of his paternal grandparents being Gypsy royalty (tribe elders) and also they were known for their skills at bare knuckled fighting.   Before Mikey was 7 his father would take him out to train for fighting as he wanted to keep the title going down the lineage.  Unfortunately, Mikey was never good at fighting so his father ended up beating him up as well as any comers looking to challenge him.    Embarrased, his father would take Mikey out after his having lost a fight and his Dad would beat him up again for shaming him.   This did not stop until a non-Gypsy friend from town helps Mikey escape.   Sadly his life away does not get much better than what he left because his father and male family members come after him and beat his friend, and his friend's family and friends up threatening worse violence unless they told his Dad where he was.   Then after several beatings, his friend goes off the deep end and begins to take out his frustration at the situation on Mikey, beating him unmercifully, too.   Along with this Mikey has endured being molested for years by an Uncle that his father would not allow him to talk about and beat him for lying.   It is surprising the boy survived his childhood at all.   Also Gypsies so no need for school and few of them could read or write beyond sounding things out and trying to spell them.  Once when the governement made the Gypsies send their kids to school it lasted only about 3 weeks.   The Gypsies were kept in a separate class from the other kids whose parents did not want them associating which was fine with the Gypsy kids because their parents didn't want them associating and being brain washed by the non-Gypsy kids at school.   Seems Mikey had a tortured life the whole way through.   There are some bright spots and it is an exceptional read to get a voyeur's view at what is inside all those caravans.   I would recommend this to anyone middle school on up.   It is such a great introduction to what Gypsy life is actually like today.   It is also a good look and understanding of how hard some people's lives are and so unjust.  Excellent Read.