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Lessons from the Gypsy Camp by Elizabeth Appell Review by Roseanna White Childhood is one of those things that very few appreciate while they’re in it and very few remember accurately once they’ve left it behind. For a lot of us, retrospect does indeed gain that rosy cast that has made it a cliche, and we remember our childhoods either as something sweeter than it could possibly have been, or perhaps the opposite, and worse than it really was. It takes a keen eye and a sharp memory to tell a story of a child in such a way that the clarity of the age is still present without the adult influence, but Appell pulls it off in Lessons from the Gypsy Camp. This book takes place in a small California town in the Sacramento valley a few decades ago, throwing the reader into the less-than-perfect life of Lolly Candolin, ten-year-old daughter of the town’s prosecuting attorney. Through Lolly’s eyes, the reader becomes acquainted the particular nuances of her town, many of which are shaped by the nearby presence of a gypsy village, Cougarville. Though the gypsy camp is known as a place where good little girls do not go on their own, Lolly knows that the mysterious place is the cause of much of the trouble in town. The stories of horror are enough to keep her away, too. But Lolly has issues in her life bigger than politics and prejudice, the leading one being her father’s love of alcohol. Though she doesn’t understand entirely what the problem is, she knows that his "horns of corn" keep him from being the father she wants, that his behavior is probably the reason her mother is withdrawn and often ill, and that the embarrassment won’t stop unless she does something. When her father doesn’t listen to her reasons, she gives him an ultimatum. And like many ultimatums, this one backfires. Spouting about consequences, her father punishes her in the best way he can: by tossing her beloved old cat over the levy, into the gypsy camp. Lolly’s rebellion comes incrementally but unavoidably. As her discontent and disillusion grows, she begins to question the ideals that her father always uses against her. Why must she obey just because she is a child? What if she’s right, and the authorities are wrong? Is it a sin to be angry if it’s in the name of justice? A Catholic girl in a Catholic school, her beliefs had always been a given, but now she’s forced to contemplate them, think them through for herself. And when she finally ventures alone over the levy in search of her cat when no one else will help her, she also has to start questioning the prejudices she had always been taught. The narrative is quick and imaginative as Appell follows Lolly through these discoveries and into the drama that they lead her into, using imagery that manages to capture perfectly the deep mind of a child. Some of the language used by the adults in the story may be a little strong for readers of an age with the main character, but it does serve to characterize those that use it. My only complaint is that I couldn’t quite convince myself during the climax of drama that it wouldn’t all work out as I wanted it to–an odd grievance, perhaps, but a valid one. In life, the innocent are not always acquitted and the guilty are not always punished so quickly, and though Appell addresses this with her final twist, even that works itself out so neatly that I must confess I was not surprised by it. Overall, Lessons from the Gypsy Camp does a laudable job at dealing with issues of faith and belief, trust, open minds, and second chances. It would be a good and manageable read for the young adult crowd that knows not to be influenced by a little course language and could use some reflection on the issues it deals with. |
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