Book Review - Brother of the Wind

Sar shan, sos me chavis kerring ta rati?*

As we begin Brothers of the Wind by Thomas Bryer Adam Stanley’s son Tom might, were he old enough to do so, answer “Na kushtie Daddus” that is to say, “Not great Dad”. We find ourselves in the New Forest as the 18th century turns to the 19th and it is a delicate time for a Romanichal lad to be born.

It is a delicate time for the Romanichal generally. This is the time when Romanes was beginning to shift from being the primary language spoken by the Roma of England and commencing its journey to becoming a source of more words in English than people might think but lose much of it’s grammar and syntax.

It is a time when the lanes and fields and woodland clearings were becoming snapped up by landowners; many of whom utterly despised the Romani people and their migratory lives.

In this setting we meet Adam, his wife Vashti and his sons Tom and Levi as well as members of Adams kompali, notably his Uncle Wester and Aunt Richanda. We also meet the various gadjie who the Stanleys interact with from solid allies and true friends such as Isaac Goldschmidt to the vengeful and vindictive magistrate Horatio Kingsley. Kingsley is both the novel’s chief antagonist and a man who’s relationship to Adam will become increasingly complex and entwined with the Romanichals he loathes.

Reflecting the time in which it is set, Brothers of the Wind, the Roma characters code switch between English and Romanes. This would be a hurdle for many reader who, unlike your reviewer, do not speak Romanes, were it not for the fact that Bryer provides translations of the Romani language as the story progresses as well as collecting non English phrases and words in a glossary that can be found after the story concludes.

Brothers of the Wind is nimbly written and doesn’t shy away from describing the prejudice and injustice faced by Roma during that period of time in various parts of the world. This also being the last few years when chattel slavery was the status enforced upon Romanies in Romania we see that as well.

It may be apparent that a great deal happens in this book, and all within slightly less than 200 pages. Therein lies my only real criticism of it. I feel it could be longer. Certainly there are enough characters and threads that the narrative as found within its pages could be expanded about threefold and still not feel overstretched.

Among the characters we eventually meet is Black Billy Boswell, a young moosh of mixed Aboriginal and Roma ancestry who I loved. He is the source of a fantastic story that serves as an illustration of how Romanes has contributed to English, specifically Australian English. Beyond that bit of linguistic theory I found Billy simply a terrific character and would have liked to have read more about his adventures. Perhaps the author could return to him in either a novel of his own or a collection of short stories.

In recent years we have seen the popularity of a long form story detailing the experiences of a clan of Romani folk as they progress from the edges of society to the pinnacle of it. While Brothers of the Wind tells a different story to Peaky Blinders it would certainly appeal to those who enjoy the latter.

Like Peaky Blinders, Brothers of the Wind tells a multigenerational story where Roma folk have to rely on their wits, their connections and their community to triumph over those who would see them destroyed. Like the BBC/Netflix show Brothers of the Wind begins with an attractive and physically dynamic man who runs afoul of an older authority figure but whose family bears the bulk of the ire. And like the show that is both Tom Hardy and Cillian Murphy’s finest collection of hours, Brothers of the Wind shows the connections between Jewish and Roma individuals, built on a shared foundation of the distrust from and mistreatment by Gadj/Goyim.

On a personal note, I went to school in Winchester and so I loved hearing names that recall living in the city (my various houses during college we all on the Romsey Road for example so it was fun to read Romsey mentioned). Vashti is also one of my favourite names and so I loved that Adam’s monishi is so called.

I do not hesitate to recommend Brother of the Wind to anyone, although it does touch on some harrowing subjects and episodes so my recommendation comes with the caveat that it is probably best for people from later teens and older.

--------------------

* How are my children this evening?

--------------------

Brothers of the Wind

Greyforest Press, LLC

196 pgs

ISBN 9780983258322

LCCN 2018907125

[email protected]