Glass, Linzi. The Year the Gypsies Came.

GLASS, Linzi. The year the Gypsies came. Henry Holt. c2006. 272p. 0-8050-7999-8. $16.95. S

In Glass's first novel set in South Africa, we are introduced to a troubled family and the disturbing consequences of their dysfunction. The Iris family is comprised of a distant father and a vain mother who nonetheless have two stable and caring daughters. In the spring, an itinerant family with two sons is invited to camp on the Iris estate. One of the sons is abused by his father, but Mr. and Mrs. Iris are too involved in their own lives to pay much attention. This troubling story is told by 12-year-old Emily Iris. Against family wishes, she has become close to the black staff, especially to Buza, the elderly Zulu warrior who now stands guard at the estate gates in the evenings. Through him, she learns about the apartheid of the time as well as the culture of his people.

When her sister Sarah wanders off, Emily asks Buza for help. Unfortunately, help means leaving the estate without his papers and Buza ends up in jail. Emily, accompanying her father to free Buza, sees and hears the horrors of the system, becoming more aware of the cost of privilege. But the real tragedy is in the developing attraction of the mentally challenged son to Sarah. His physical size and emotional wounds overpower the caring and trusting Sarah. It is too late when the Iris family realizes the damage done to their daughter. Although marketed for readers 12 and up, this novel will be too graphic for younger adolescents. Janis Flint-Ferguson, Assoc. Prof., English, Gordon College, Wenham, MA