Books discovered

Bury Me Standing by Isabel Fonseca, is an extraordinary account by a woman who managed to live with Gypsy people for long periods in a variety of countries. Anyone who saw the magical film, Latcho Drom, shown at the Corrie Film Club a couple of months ago, will have kept those images of independent, beautiful people, obstinately clinging to their rich-flavoured way of life in the face of all suppression and cruelty, and it has not changed. Despite the nod of respect that has given Gypsies the ancient name of Roma and made them half-recognised as an endangered species, the prejudice and fear remain. All the more remarkable, then, that a woman on her own managed to learn Romani and become accepted by Gypsy communities all across Europe from Albania to Poland. The long Albanian section is particularly fascinating, written as it was during the time when hardly any foreigner was able to enter that country.

Isabel Fonseca, who is the wife of Martin Amis and mother of two daughters, has the dark hair and lean, intense face that could well mark her as a member of a travelling tribe. It is clear from her perceptive, never self-indulgent writing, that she found a vital connection with these fiercely independent people. This book is in sharp contrast to her earlier, sub-Amis, angsty novel called Attachment, which is best avoided. Bury Me Standing takes its title from words spoken by an old fighter for Gypsy rights, who said, ‘Bury me standing – I have been on my knees all my life.’

A thundering good read, and a deeply moving human document. Easy to pick up second-hand on the Internet – try the ever-useful Abe Books.

Bury Me Standing by Isabel Fonseca, Vintage, ISBN 0-679-73743-X.