cover image Gypsy

Gypsy

Margaret P. Kirk. Atheneum Books, $19.95 (536pp) ISBN 978-0-689-11774-9

Rich with Gypsy lore and customs, this sprawling saga focuses on a young man futilely tries to dodge the past. In postWorld War II England, a scoundrel is expelled from his Gypsy clan for killing his wife. Micah, this penniless exile's son, accompanies his ""Da,'' who dies suddenly. Fortunately, Micah is welcomed into the home of Anna and Felix Abramsky. Anna, a ballet instructor, and Felix, proprietor of an appliance shop, gladly adopt Micah, who learns that their infant son died in a German bombing raid. Anna was later raped by a German officer; the child she grudgingly bore, Gabriella, was raised by her paternal grandmother. Micah, soon known as Michael, eventually weds Anna's discarded daughter, then turns Felix's shop into a lucrative electronics empire. Now securely upper-class, Michael shuns his earthy, often shiftless, kin, yet guilt stirs in him whenever they resurface. Still viscerally drawn to his heritage, Michael must choose between the conventional, prestigious world he inhabits, or the sensual enticement of his wanton second cousin Farah, the Gypsy who vows to claim him. Kirk (Always a Stranger creates symmetry and tension by showing Michael's ambivalent position between the two wildly contrasting families and lifestyles. The Gypsies' effusiveness, as well as their indomitable pride, is skillfully rendered. 50,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo. (September 2)