Book review: I met lucky people: the story of the Romani gypsies by Yaron Matras

"I Met Lucky People: The Story of the Romani Gypsies. Yaron Matras. Allen Lane. February 2014." --- As one of the last remaining societies in the Western hemisphere with a strictly oral culture, the Romani people have no written record of their history that can be consulted. From the early 1990s, linguist Yaron Matras has been working with the these groups, one of a handful of people to have done so. Travelling widely in central and eastern Europe, studying their language and learning their dialects, he has witnessed their campaign for recognition. In I Met Lucky People Matras aims to give readers a comprehensive account of their culture, language and history. It is great to see a book that offers in-depth information about the customs and traditions of Romani Gypsies as this may contribute to dispelling negative discourses which continue to socially exclude different Traveller communities, writes Kate D’Arcy.