The Stopping Places
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- £6.99
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- £6.99
Publisher Description
Random House presents the audiobook edition of The Stopping Places, written and read by Damian Le Bas.
*BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week*
'I needed to get to the stopping places, so I needed to get on the road. It was the road where I might at last find out where I belonged.'
Damian Le Bas grew up surrounded by Gypsy history. His great-grandmother would tell him stories of her childhood in the ancient Romani language; the places her family stopped and worked, the ways they lived, the superstitions and lores of their people. But his own experience of life on the road was limited to Ford Transit journeys from West Sussex to Hampshire to sell flowers.
In a bid to better understand his Gypsy heritage, the history of the Britain's Romanies and the rhythms of their life today, Damian sets out on a journey to discover the atchin tans, or stopping places – the old encampment sites known only to Travellers. Through winter frosts and summer dawns, from horse fairs to Gypsy churches, neon-lit lay-bys to fern-covered banks, Damian lives on the road, somewhere between the romanticised Gypsies of old, and their much-maligned descendants of today.
In this powerful and soulful debut, Damian le Bas brings the places, characters and stories of his to bold and vigorous life.
Customer Reviews
Beautifully written and read
I really enjoyed listening to Le Bas' account of his journey around some of the atchin tans of Britain, and his concurrent journey exploring his identity. Some things discussed were familiar to me, some things helped me understand more about part of my own family history, and others were valued insights into the ways and histories of other peoples. I recommend the audiobook because it's read by the author, and the imagery and vividly descriptive language make this book a pleasure to listen to.
Download Issue
Purchased this but it wouldn’t download, apple support said it wasn’t an issue with the app but with this audiobook - any chance of a fix?