Rating: 
Summary: Accurate Account of Gypsys' Plight
Review: Ms Fonseca presents an accurate and believable picture of the Gypsy lifestyle and present day situation. The book mixes personal anecdotes and experiences with Gypsy families and leaders throughout eastern Europe with history and editorial commentary. Having recently returned from Romania, where Gypsies are that country's largest minority population, I can attest to the perpetuation of stereotypes and discrimination expressed by all segments of the population; from doctors and teachers to everyday citizens even though there may never have been any personal experience or contact. This book is clearly well thought out and researched and is an important volume to anyone interested in not only the history of the Gypsies but in how that history continues to impact and influence modern views and perceptions of this much maligned people.
Rating: 
Summary: A strong effort...
Review: ...to give some definition to a mysterious ethnic group. Fonseca offers rich details of Gypsy life, culled from numerous visits with European Roma in the early 1990s. Her writing sometimes gets a little thick and scholarly, but it's worth muddling through, especially if this is a particular area of interest.
Rating: 
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: The title of this book suggests that it offers more than it delivers. Ms. Fonseca's book is based on her personal experiences living with several impoverished Albanian Roma families. I thought the scope of this book was far too narrow to be of general interest and far too narrow to be the basis for any sort of political or anthropological conclusions. If you are looking for a history of the Gypsies and discussion of Gypsy cultural contributions (as I was), I suggest you look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: An important book, but readability suffers
Review: I'm glad I read this book -- it is an often-fascinating portrait of a world I knew nothing about. Despite the biases noted by other reviewers, I think the author's exhaustive search for material, both through literature and live observation, has paid off. This culture doesn't document itself, so as an ethnographic work, I think it's very welcome, warts and all. Unfortunately, I found the book tiresome at several points and irksome in other ways. I didn't expect Pulitzer-level writing, but a lot of the book read like it was dictated and transcribed without editing or organization. She seemed to expect a level of basic knowledge or just didn't bother to explain certain things, and it made it tough to get into the book initially. Maybe I'm dense, but it took me about 20 or 30 pages to figure out the difference between Rom, Romani, and Roma. If the author didn't want to break up her narrative, a glossary would've been nice. Finally, the book veered, often jarringly, between a sophisticated sociopolitical study of the Gypsies, a putdown of Eastern Europe, and a chatty magazine article. I was actually more put off by her apparently sneering tone in several cases than her pro-Gypsy bias. You can report that people appear childlike by American standards without acting like you're the prom queen and they're the wallflowers. Bottom line: If you think the topic is interesting and have time, read it. But I'd hesitate to push the book on people who want a "good read," which is too bad. I think this author can be a major writer in the future if she can self-edit or turn her work over to a good editor.
Rating:
Summary: Very informative
Review: Before I read this book I thought the same sterotypes concerning gypsies that everyone does- you know, traveling, dancing, fiddling, (not, however, stealing babies- that seems to be a sterotype for every minority that is disliked by others and I think it's cruel to even say something like that). I was definately set straight though. I think Fonesca's research was consistant and thorough, but the orginization of some of her facts was a wee bit off, making some of her points fuddled. Still, I thought it was a wonderful undertaking, and her time was well spent trying to educate people about the true civilization of the gypsies. A side note: anyone who reads this and finds it interesting might want to check out POV on PBS because there was one episode called Amercian Gypsie (I believe that is what it was called). It puts a face to the facts.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good, but could have been better...
Review: Excessive verbiage is the main problem with the book--the other being that the author seems biased towards her subjects.An interesting account of the gypsies, their history, and life today, but I had hoped it would be broader in scope to include other parts of the world besides Eastern Europe.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating book
Review: Fascinating book on one of the "persecuted" minorities. The American author, who has both Jewish and Gypsy blood, attempts to paint a positive picture of the Gypsies but instead shows the generalizations about them to be true. They live by lying, cheating, and swindling non-Gypsies, whom they call Gadje; by importing; by selling used cars; and by welfare. Rarely do they perform physical labor, which they abhor. Up to 50% of the men are in prison. Women marry at 12 or 13 and thereafter are condemned to long days of domestic work and producing as many babies as possible while the men do virtually nothing. Consistent with the Gypsy stereotype, they do carry large wads of money or gold, have disgusting personal habits, and are extremely superstitious. The author follows these dark-skinned aliens from the tenth century, when they left India, to their arrival in Europe in the fourteenth century, to the current day. Today in many Eastern European countries local villagers are virtually at war with the Gypsies, who were both protected and controlled by the previous, communist governments. Under democratic capitalism the Gypsies have been liberated. Even when they have lived in one nation for years, they have no loyalty to it, but are loyal only to their families and other Gypsies. Fonseca weaves the history of the Gypsies with her incriminating, highly interesting observations and anecdotes on Gypsies from having lived with them in several European countries.
Rating:
Summary: Biased is right
Review: As an American woman working with an NGO here in Romania, I can readily agree with the reviewer's comments of the book. "Bury Me Standing" is indeed a very biased book. I first read it back home, but since coming to Romania, a lot of my ideas about the gypsies have changed. A lot of their problems are indeed self-inflicted. I just wish Fonseca made the book more "well-rounded." One aspect I find troubling is her omitting anything that presents a bad picture of the gypsies, and I find it incredible that in all her research, she didn't once address such a horrible aspect of gypsy culture as deforming their children so has to make them better beggars. This is a FACT, not a stereotype, that's prevalent all over Romania and eastern Europe as well. How do I know? I've seen it, and I've been to a gypsy family just as the parents finished breaking their daughter's arm. Their excuse? That it "wasn't working properly!" Now, it's dangling the wrong 90 degrees so I guess it works properly now. Call me cynical, but it's these scenes and a thousand others that make me see how infantile and skewed the book is, preying on the Western reader's complete ignorance of the gypsies to get its point across.
Rating:
Summary: A book everyone must read
Review: By way of explanation for my comment above... I'm not saying this is the greatest book ever written, but it is a `must-read' because it goes some way to filling a huge gap in most people's knowledge of Europe. Fonseca gives a valuable account from the `inside' of a people who have been reviled and abused (or patronised) for centuries. The book is well-written and intricately researched, and provides insights into both Roma customs, and the poltical problems and challenges they face in post-communist Europe. What gives this book a real resonace for me is the upsurge of anti-Roma racism in Europe. This has reached my country, Britain, with hysterical attacks from the press and politicians against `asylum-seekers' (or refugees, as they used to be called), especially on Roma from East and Central Europe who are labelled as scroungers and beggars. Fonseca's account of the oppression of these people in Romania and elsewhere is a valuable corrective to these myths. Finally, reading the other reviews, I feel that if Fonseca is being attacked _both_ for being overly sympatheic to the Roma _and_ for being insufficiently sympathetic, she can't be going too far wrong! I felt her book was a `warts and all' account, which doesn't ignore the problems within Roma society, but continually brings the focus back on the systematic racism that they have faced, and still face in Europe today.
Rating:
Summary: Good description for Muslim Roma, but not all Roma
Review: My husband and myself are from one of the largest Rom villages in the former Yugoslavia. While we found Isabel Fonseca's book entertaining, some the information was inadequate. Most of the rituals and superstions she describes are not adheared to in our village at all. American Rom sometimes cling to these beliefs because they do not want to become assimilated into society. In our country that will never be the case. We will never be seen as equals, or as Slovenes,nor would we be treated as Slovenes. Our village is known for its celebration of Rom culture and its independence. We have our own stores, bars, disco, drama club, folklore dance group and are members of the International Romani Union. We speak only Romani in the home. While we do not adhear to the stringent codes of behavior that Fonseca's Rom subscibe to, we still remain a separate minority in society - and we are proud to be Roma!
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