The Gypsy Man

by Robert Bausch

The motto of Crawford, Virginia, might well be Beware what you fear, because it may come true. Penny Bone is terrified of the town's local legend of a child-stealing phantom. Henry Gault, her six-year-old daughter's teacher, scoffs at the tale, trusting in reason and foresight to safeguard what is most precious to him. Penny's husband, John, is in prison for an accidental murder that happened because he was trying to be too careful. And in prison he will, almost accidentally, become a hero, which makes him prey to what he fears most--hope. An eerie succession of events will take these people into the bull's-eye of risk that everyday life presents. While the Gypsy Man may be just one of Crawford's myths, John and Penny Bone are as real as the rising sun, and their strength, separately and together, reminds us why life is worth living. The Gypsy Man, and its durable and enduring characters, illuminates how an elusive truth lives behind every legend.

Genres: Fiction

494 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Robert Bausch was a college professor and novelist in Virginia.

Reviews

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure where I got this one, I found it in my basement. It actually took me a good while to get into the story. It was hard for me to keep track of all of the characters and all of the storylines.
The town has a legend of a boy who goes missing, taken by the tipsy man. Another boy disappears years later.
A man goes to jail for murder, after he throws his beer bottle out the window, and it hits a girl and kills her. Meanwhile, his wife and child are living with the aunt. The aunt goes missing and returns, worse for wear. They uncover a rock in the yard, and realize it's a gravestone.

[Andy Plonka · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one took a while to get into and to keep the characters straight in my mind, but what a great story and mystery set in Virginia during the sixties, amidst the racial strife. The ending is fantastic

[Laura Green · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF!

[Chris Blocker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walking into a room with twenty people, it's likely you're going to gravitate toward certain individuals. Some you'll probably not even notice. And the mere voices of others will nerves feel like a block of Parmesan on a grater. So it is with a book with multiple first-person narrators; especially when it is done well. And Bausch really nails it with this one.

Bausch has really gotten into the voices of these characters and created a community that is very convincing. The story starts out a bit dry, but picks up. By the end, it is quite easy to find oneself looking for excuses to ignore life's little inconveniences (i.e. work, school) and keep reading.

I had few expectations for this book, and although I didn't fall in love with The Gypsy Man, I enjoyed it. A highly entertaining read.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! It's like when you buy a cheap firework at a fireworks stand... you don't expect much from it... you wonder what kind of effects it's going to shoot off. When it's finally time to light it... you light it and wait for what seems like forever while nothing happens, then finally BOOM BOOM BOOM, FLASH, BANG, BOOM, SQUEAL, FLASH, BOOM - BOOM - BOOM! ! ! ! That's how this book was for me.

I could not put it down for the last 100-200 pages. I stayed up in the middle of the night until I finished it because I didn't feel like I could go sleep without knowing how some of the story lines wrapped up.

It's very seldom that I enjoy a book this much. But I will warn you that it starts off very slow so go ahead and keep those "fireworks stand" level of expectations low! :-)

[Elisabeth Clifford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfectly depicts life in the mountains! How quickly rumors and news travels as well as how easily folklore is believed as fact. This is the story of a young man who goes to prison for that accidental murder of a child and the struggles his wife and child he left behind face. His wife lives with her aunt who is a floozy running with different men and leaving for weeks at a time without letting anyone know until she runs with the wrong man who coincidentally is on the run after escaping from the same prison her niece's husband is being kept at... a must read don't want to give it all away!

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed all 491 pages, which is an excellent indicator of what I thought of the book. Besides that, the story-telling reminded me of some of lessons about characters from 8th grade Engligh class--and I loved 8th grade English class.

In honor of full disclosure, I may be a little biased because the author complimented my own stories (plus he wears a cool hat).

[Florence Buchholz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tale was told from multiple viewpoints which added complexity and also suspense. This was actually a who dunn it with some added depth. I hope that the racial hatred portrayed here in Virginia circa 1959 was somewhat exagerated.

[Mathewsmary2000 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this novel! It consists of vignettes which serve as chapters which reveal each character to the reader in a gradual format. A definite good read for those in search of character studies, mystery,and intrigue!

[Dorothy]

Too gritty

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just could not get into this book. I stopped reading.

[Damian Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read. Robert Bausch has really pulled an incredible story together from his giant and imaginative brain- Bravo

[Marshawc · Rating 4 out of 5]

a great mystery set high in the hills and back in the dark holler of Old Virginny ...
strong characters....
with a generous sprinkling of mountain lore....

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love this novel.