The book is riveting, I read it over a couple of days and passed my copy to a friend. As I got deeper into the book however, I got an increasing sense that I was reading a fictionalised account of Gypsy life, albeit written by someone who had been a member of the community. One apparent discrepancy that was hard to account for was how someone who had been severely beaten almost every day of his life, with fists, boots, clubs and shovels, managed to not only avoid having to get medical treatment but also retained his oft commented on good looks. I suspect if a 6 year old child was punched and kicked in the face as hard and as often as is claimed then by the time he was 9 or 10 say he would look pretty awful. I would recommend the book, but also recommend applying some critical thinking, and not accepting every word as true.