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American Gypsy: A Memoir

by Oksana Marafioti (Goodreads Author)

3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 · rating details · 222 ratings · 58 reviews

A vivid and funny memoir about growing up Gypsy and becoming American

Fifteen-year-old Oksana Marafioti is a Gypsy. This means touring with the family band from the Mongolian deserts to the Siberian tundra. It means getting your hair cut in “the Lioness.” It also means enduring sneering racism from every segment of Soviet society. Her father is determined that his girls lea...more

Paperback, 384 pages

Published July 3rd 2012 by FSG Originals (first published May 1st 2012)

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Sep 17, 2012 *•.♥.•*Sabrina Rutter*•.♥.•* rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: gypsies-travellers, favorites

Yes! I had requested to barrow this from the library through interloan, and they sent me a message stating that since it's new they will look into purchasing a copy for our local library! I just love it when that happens lol :)

***Review

This is by far one of my top most favorite books EVER! It's weird because even before I had read it I had no doubt in my mind this one was going to be absolutely amazing! It's not that this book gave me some profound new idea, nor the fact that Oksana lived a most...more Yes! I had requested to barrow this from the library through interloan, and they sent me a message stating that since it's new they will look into purchasing a copy for our local library! I just love it when that happens lol :)

***Review

This is by far one of my top most favorite books EVER! It's weird because even before I had read it I had no doubt in my mind this one was going to be absolutely amazing! It's not that this book gave me some profound new idea, nor the fact that Oksana lived a most unique life with an equally unique background. It's just simply amazing the way this book takes you so many different places with your emotions. Happiness, comfort, sadness, fear, love, and humor all rolled into one incredible book. I swear this book should be made into a movie!

Oksana was born into a family of entertaining gypsies living in the USSR. With an alcoholic mother, and a father who is a bit of a ladies man they travel around with her grandpa's performing gypsy troupe dancing, singing, and living the good life, well as good as one can expect living under Soviet rule. Oksana shares some of the most hilarious stories from her childhood. Performing a seance to get information for a homework assignment, losing her innocence to an underground XXX theater, and sharing the many ways to cook animal balls along with her cousin. Of course this is a real life tale though, so it can't always be fun and games. At the tender age of thirteen Oksana finally falls in love only to have her heart shattered into a thousand tiny pieces in the worst way imaginable. With this deep gaping chasm of pain in her heart Oksana sets off with her parents for America, and it's singly wrapped cheese that's so exotic, and needlessly luxurious.

Oksana Marafioti really knows how to tell a story! I was laughing by page five, and in tears not long after that. I was so sucked into this story I almost felt as if I were there observing it all in person. I love the fact that Oksana shows the sometimes hilarious side of being a foreigner as we usually only get the bad side of the story. If you're looking for a good book to read, look no further. This book has it all! Possession, gypsies, psychics, addictions, love, and on, and on...(less)

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Jul 29, 2012 Lillie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Enjoyed this book a lot. Very interesting story of a young half Roma/half Armenian girl immigrating to the US from the former Soviet Union. My only quibble was that we only got 2 years of story (until she went off to college) with quite a bit of backstory (which was good). My problem? I wanted more. Hopefully

Oksana Marafioti will go on and write further about her experience.

1 like · like · see review

Aug 17, 2012 Howard McEwen rated it 2 of 5 stars

For years my only image of the Roma people was Maria Ouspenskaya’s Gypsy in 1941’s The Wolf Man. After reading American Gypsy, my image is of a bunch of emotionally and mentally abusive alcoholic, adulterous, fortune-telling con-artists.

I’m not sure that’s an improvement or what the author intended.

American Gypsy is a memoir, an immigrant story and a peek at Gypsy culture.

Oksana Marafiote’s memoir is full of intensely unlikeable, horrible family. It’s not exactly a horror show, it’s Pat Conroy-l...more For years my only image of the Roma people was Maria Ouspenskaya’s Gypsy in 1941’s The Wolf Man. After reading American Gypsy, my image is of a bunch of emotionally and mentally abusive alcoholic, adulterous, fortune-telling con-artists.

I’m not sure that’s an improvement or what the author intended.

American Gypsy is a memoir, an immigrant story and a peek at Gypsy culture.

Oksana Marafiote’s memoir is full of intensely unlikeable, horrible family. It’s not exactly a horror show, it’s Pat Conroy-lite with a deck of tarot cards. However, the author does not come across as unlikeable herself – which saves the book to an extent. The only point where I found Oksana is when dealing with her parent’s mysticism and especially her father’s exorcisms and fortune telling. She rejects following in his steps mostly from wanting to pursue her own American path. I wish she would have wrestled more with the fact that her father was taking advantage – thousands of dollars at a time she notes – of sick and desperate people. What the man does is despicable but there doesn’t seem much judgement against that or at least giving it much attention.

However, the daily activities of her family life aren’t all that different than most. While the parental disinterest and emotional hobbling are done with a Russian accent, it’s not uncommon, unfortunately, to have crappy addicted, divorced parents and grandparents. It just wasn’t interesting.

It is an immigrant story but I would have liked more to hear what happened after she graduates high school. Is there success? A breakthrough? She came to America, accomplished a few things against some not-so-bad adversity and then went to college. That’s very nice and she should be congratulated but does it deserve a book? I don’t know. I don’t think so. It’s also the story of her immigrant parents making their way in the USA. My only thought to that was: maybe I should rethink my open immigration stance. I wish the US. would have sent these folks back to Russia. They come here, they go on welfare, they commit crimes, they con folks. Did they take the spot of a nice Indian doctor?

The real letdown for me was that I didn’t learn anything about Roma culture or history. There’s a bit but it would have been nice to place her failed family against the history of her people. I don’t really know anything about them that I didn’t already know. If I was a Roma I’d be yelling, this isn’t us. Unless it is. If that’s so, that’s sad.

That being said, the book is written well. It’s in a nice, plain style that’s conversational. The author wrote the story in a nice, easy to read but not simplistic manner. I have some quibble with some overwrought dialogue that doesn’t have the voice of a teenager. Pacing and plotting could have been a little sharper and I felt somewhat shorted on characterizations of some of her high school friends. They seemed a blur.
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Jul 24, 2012 Sue Campbell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Dang. Goodreads ate my review. Well, here goes, again.

I loved this book. Oksana Marafioti accomplishes in her memoir what few other memoirists are able to do. This book reads like a novel—and that's a good thing! Most memoirs are just one thing after another, each incident may be entertaining, but they are often unrelated and don't create a "story" worth following. This one is different. Marafioti successfully builds tension, drama, and even suspense. I really cared to know what happened to thi...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 12, 2012 TheBookSmugglers rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: hidden-gems, notable-reads-of-2012, non-fiction, young-adult

Original review posted on The Book Smugglers

And now for something completely different as I try to write my first review of a memoir.

Oksana was 15 when her parents decided to leave Russia (just before the USSR was dissolved) for America in search of a better life. Although they were rather affluent people, they were treated like second class citizens back home due to their part-Gypsy ancestry. Oksana’s parents were part of a touring band: the father a gifted Roma musician and the mother an accom...more Original review posted on The Book Smugglers

And now for something completely different as I try to write my first review of a memoir.

Oksana was 15 when her parents decided to leave Russia (just before the USSR was dissolved) for America in search of a better life. Although they were rather affluent people, they were treated like second class citizens back home due to their part-Gypsy ancestry. Oksana’s parents were part of a touring band: the father a gifted Roma musician and the mother an accomplished band manager from Armenia. When the family moves to the US, they hope to leave all problems behind and start anew in the land of opportunity. Unfortunately things are not that easy and theirs plans don’t go as smoothly as they hope. There is the language barrier to start with not to mention all the cultural baggage they brought along.

Conflicts follow them to America: her mother’s alcoholism, her father’s propensity to cheat, their different nationalities and backgrounds still a source of problem. And Oksana stands in the middle: the only one who speaks a little of English, a child of different cultures, a supposed soviet in the middle of capitalist America and a girl trying to find her own identity in the middle of all this chaos.

If qualifications are necessary at all, I would call this a Young Adult memoir as it is framed and limited by Oksana’s high school years. The memoir starts when she is fifteen and stops as she is about to go to college – it often goes back in time to early childhood but rarely if ever do we get to see a glimpse of Oksana’s older years.

I chose to read American Gypsy for a number of reasons: I liked the idea of venturing into memoir territory, a new thing for me. I feel like it is impossible to write this review of a very personal story without making it personal too – it is as though after having received what I consider to be a gift from the author, I just have to return it by speaking a bit about myself. I chose to read this memoir in particular because 1) it was offered to me and 2) it sounded interesting. The former only made it easy. The latter because just like the author, I am too an immigrant (from Brazil to England) and wanted to hear about her experience. And as it just so happens, I have always been fascinated by not only Russia (and especially how so many different cultures and peoples were brought together under one rule) but also by Gypsies. In Brazil, we have this fascination for Gypsies: I remember when my mother used to take me to a “Gypsy” store and buy me flowery “Gypsy” clothes.“Gypsy” is also a very common Carnaval costume and I dressed up with long skirt, huge earrings and dangling bracelets more than once.

Of course now I know, this is all embarrassingly stereotypical bulshit and tremendously offensive: we obviously knew absolutely nothing about the Romani people and more often than not, most people don’t either. Which is a point that comes brilliantly across when reading American Gypsy as Oksana navigates the assumptions and prejudices that her people suffer. To the point where, to start with, she doesn’t even admit that she is Gypsy.

That said, this book is much more than the exploration of the macro-cosmos of a culture backdrop – as a memoir, it is more about Oksana and how her life progresses as she moves to America. As a teenager, she is often trapped by her parents’ wants and desires for her. She had to navigate the waters of a traditional Romani father who has certain expectations about what a girl, a daughter should or rather; could accomplish. It is heartbreaking to read about how Oksana felt the need to earn her father’s admiration for what she could do as an accomplished musician herself. The conflict between learned tradition and obvious desire for change and progress is not an easy one to solve and this memoir was great at showing that. This story follows Oksana as she tries to find a place for herself fighting a cultural assimilation that clashes with her family’s past (whose outlandish stories she is proud to share) and trying to find a measure of individualisation in the midst of such strong traditions.

American Gypsy actually reads like a novel and at times I forgot I was reading about real people – and it is weird and a bit funny for me to be saying this because of how many times I’ve said the opposite about a novel (“it was so good I felt the characters were real people”). There is a lot of dialogue, and outlandish, funny adventures as well as some heartbreak and serious moments.

At the risk of sounding trite: I loved reading American Gypsy. It is extremely well-written, gripping and I couldn’t put it down. I loved reading about Oksana’s story: her path to individualism and independence; her troubled relationship with her parents, a relationship of love but one with charged expectations about her gender – in that sense, this book is also a great feminist read.

More than that, from a very personal and self-centred strand-point, I loved this from a ContempYA perspective. I have gotten used to reading these fictional stories about identity and fitting in and it is really interesting to read a real story of a teenager who has the same problems I usually read about in YA. In that sense, reading this book helps me reading ContempYA – from a reviewer point of view. But above all, I loved her voice, I loved the cultural differences explored in the book, I loved Oksana’s strive for independence and I am so glad I gave the book a shot. (less)

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Jul 02, 2012 L.M. Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone - This book can touch each and every soul.

Recommended to L.M. by: Oksana Marafioti

(I pre-ordered this book through Barnes & Noble and was lucky enough to receive it a few days early).

An enlightening and inspiring read:

Unlike so many other memoirs, this book is not about placing blame on others, boasting of one’s accomplishments, or wallowing in self-pity. With the brilliantly executed purity of a professional documentary, these pages reveal life as an emigrant from the Soviet Union, an uncertain young woman, and a Roma from the perspective of the author.

Oksana Marafioti’s...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 19, 2012 Katie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoirs-bios, nonfiction

I didn't think that I'd be able to finish American Gypsy: A Memoir so quickly, because it looked somewhat dense. Then, I couldn't sleep last night because I started feeling all creepy during the witching hour, so I decided to read. This turned out to be a huge mistake, because this book contains a description of an exorcism. So then I was REALLY awake, and wound up finishing the book.

I digress.

I have a track record of not really liking memoirs and biographies, but this I thoroughly enjoyed. I've...more

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Oct 14, 2012 Catherine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Marafioti describes her family’s move from Moscow in 1989 when she was still a child to Los Angeles. Her Armenian mother and Romani (aka Gypsy) father immediately separate upon their arrival to the United States. Oksana and her younger sister, Roxy, are shuttled back and forth between her single mother, and father, who’s living with his girlfriend, who he was seeing prior to the family’s departure from Moscow.

Oksana’s stories are not only about the immigrant experience but also the all-too-famil...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Cheri rated it 5 of 5 stars

Few books will ever give the reader a glimpse into a culture as unique and secretive as that of ethnic Gypsies. Few memoirs will take you through a landscape as sweeping as the concert halls of Soviet Union to the immigrant neighborhoods and cemeteries of Hollywood.

Here's what you'll find between the covers of American Gypsy: Adventure and mystery juxtaposed with tradition and the supernatural; the determination of a family to triumph despite a myriad of struggles; the rise and fall of fame and...more

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Aug 20, 2012 Paul Atreides rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book, though I rarely read memoirs. So much insight into the immagration struggles - particularly the work which goes into learning the language. If you think you know about the Gypsy culture, whether in the US or back in the "Old Country," you've got quite a surprise coming when reading this book. Oksana dispells so many of the myths, confirms a few, and shows you that the "reality" tv shows are a bit of a put-on for entertainment value.

It's a quick read, she keeps your in...more

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Feb 09, 2013 Susan Nadathur rated it 4 of 5 stars

My first response to American Gypsy was awe at how beautifully Oksana Marafioti communicated her story in English. Her prose is lyrical and impressive—especially for a young woman who learned English as a second language in high school and by devouring romance novels. What I like about this book is that Oksana shared her memories, experiences and emotions without ever asking for pity, sympathy, approval, or even understanding from the reader.

The only criticism I have of the book is that it, unf...more

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Sep 15, 2012 Evelyn rated it 5 of 5 stars

i really enjoyed this book. i found myself deeply connected to oksana. even though her story was far different from my own i found that some of the major aspects were events i had experienced. my love of romani culture led me to pick up this book and give it a chance and it didnt dissapoint. there is a ton of mini lessons about russia, armenia, romani and conditions for gypsies in russia and the ussr in general. the only flaw i saw in the book was it started kind of slowly. i was about 50 pages...more

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Feb 03, 2013 Debbie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

I read this for my book club - and it was ok but not what I expected. I thought it would be about a girl raised in a gypsy family in the US - I know there are gypsy's in the US and would like to read about their culture. Instead it was about a young girl who was part gypsy who immigrated from Russia with her parents and is trying to adjust to the US while also walking the line between her old culture and her new culture - in other words a typical immigrant's story.

That doesn't make it not intere...more

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Sep 29, 2012 Daisy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Daisy by: Vroman's in Pasadena

Shelves: east-bloc-memoir, la-hollywood, roma, eastern-europe, russia, armenia, latvia

"To make proper zavarka (essence), you need five tablespoons of loose-leaf Ceylon tea in a white teapot." The leaves formed into mountains as she measured them out. "Then, hot water to just below the spout." After this step, she'd fetch a tall heatproof glass and fill it with halfway with the essence, pour the liquid back into the pot, and repeat thirteen times.
"What are you doing now?" I asked.
"Marrying the essence with the water," she explained. "If you want to catch a good man, pay attention....more

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Sep 26, 2012 George rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ipad, non-fiction, book-club

A DELIGHTFUL MEMOIR.

“To the European Roma, we were court jesters, doormats, quacks, but the mainstream society still considered us feral despite our polite handshakes.”—page 53

I have been fascinated with Gypsy customs and culture for as long as I can remember. Probably as far back as when I was only four or five years old and my grandparents would teasingly chide that they were going to sell me to the ‘Gypsies’ if I misbehaved. The threat worked, but, even then, my mercenary curiosity couldn’t h...more

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Oct 09, 2012 Emily rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, identity, cheyenne

It has been interesting reading this at the same time that I am listening to Girl in Translation and comparing the experiences of the two girls, even though this is a memoir and GiT is a novel...

Oksana, a Russian Gypsy, moves to the U.S. as a teenager with her family just before the USSR dissolves. The story of her adaption to US culture and her search for herself and, while they frustrate and aggravate her to no end, her quest (although she doesn't recognize it until the end) for family is poig...more

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Feb 02, 2013 Jess rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a compelling read about a Russian immigrant moving to the United States in the late '80's. Interesting and poetic, this is an averagely good book.
I would recommend reading it, but only if you have time. If you don't you won't be deprived of a great literary work.
But if you are feeling blue and can't help but think that your life sucks, read it. Warms the heart, gives some food to the soul, and makes you realize how lucky we are to be Americans.

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Aug 23, 2012 Shannon rated it 2 of 5 stars

I've always been interested in gypsy culture since the day that young gypsies once bursted into my classroom and let off firecrackers. I was expecting this book to be a close look at the gypsy culture in America, maybe a less sensational My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and though I appreciated her antidotes, the book read more like a typical coming-of-age-story anything else. Yes, she threw in some wacky family members, a bit of the occult, and star-crossed lovers...but really, it was just a tale of an...more

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Aug 18, 2012 Mardi rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was an amazing view into another culture within America and the former Soviet Union. Marafioti holds nothing back in retelling her experiences. She gives the reader a small but clear window to view the Roma in both the US and Eastern Europe. She also lets us know that coming of age experiences are universal. I highly recommend this and look forward to her next work

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Oct 14, 2012 Ann rated it 4 of 5 stars

I saw this on the new book shelf at the library and picked it up. Its a memoir, one my favorite genres, and follows a young teenager and her move from Russia to LA in 1989 when she was 13 or so. I could relate to the time because I was 19 and living life large back then. Amazing story of overcoming the obstacles that face not just teenagers, but immigrating teens.

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Feb 07, 2013 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. It was about the Romani Gypsy people of Russia. Specifically, a girl born to that culture in the 1970's, and her emmigration to the States in 1990. It gave some history on the Roma people and I found that interesting. A decent light-ish read, especially fun for those who grew up in the 80's / 90's.

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Dec 09, 2012 Deborah Coonts rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wonderful tale of a Gypsy family and their move to L.A. when the author fifteen-years old, spoke very little english, and whose only impression of America was from an occasional black-market magazine. Funny, wry, an amazing story of courage and conviction. You will laugh and cry and be amazed at the resiliency of Okasana.

1 like · like · see review

Oct 15, 2012 Marge rated it 2 of 5 stars

The most interesting part of this book was the life lived in Russia, love the Russian words, and the perception of gypsy life in both countries. Another book of children raised by disfunctional and/or alcoholic parents but these kids had more of a "normal" life than most I've read - they did get to eat and go to school.

1 like · like · see review

Sep 02, 2012 Alcina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: autobio-memoirs

Loved it. First few chapters ended in a way that made me think of teen writers trying to be melodramatic. However, as I continued on, I was unable to put the books down. Wondefully woven and quite funny, it was also an amazing insight into one familys' Roma/Armenian/Russian/American landed immigration story. Fascinating.

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Oct 07, 2012 Hannah rated it 5 of 5 stars

i laughed. i (almost) cried. i was shocked and intrigued.

i knew next to nothing of gypsy lives and culture and i found this pretty eye-opening and interesting. plus, oksana has a great voice and i enjoyed her vivid descriptions of her family and their lives in russia and america.

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Jul 29, 2012 Julie Redl rated it 3 of 5 stars

A young woman's story of her life as a member of the Romani culture as experienced in the former Soviet Union, then as immigrants to the USA. An entertaining look at real Gypsies who of course aren't like the stereotypes we might have towards them.

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Jul 30, 2012 Christy Merrick - Gharib rated it 5 of 5 stars

An absolutely amazing memoir! I did not want it to end! It was the first look I have had into the culture and beliefs of the Romani people. As a newly graduated Sociology and Religious Studies major, I was thrilled and will be looking into this culture more closely.

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Sep 09, 2012 Janice rated it 5 of 5 stars

American Gypsy was such a good, entertaining and interesting book!! I love the way Oksana writes. You never have any question in your mind what she is saying. I have such admiration for her coming to this country as a teen and adjusting to our culture when it was so different from the one she left behind. I just can't imagine many teens that could do that. Thank you Oksana for being so open with your readers and sharing your life with us. And thank you Goodreads for another AWESOME free giveaway...more

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Sep 16, 2012 Neile rated it 3 of 5 stars

An intriguing memoir and glimpse into worlds we rarely hear much about. The portraits of her fascinating life and dynamic cultural mix in both Russia and after immigration to the U.S. are vivid. Well worth reading.

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Jul 13, 2012 Jessica (j*&p*) marked it as to-read

I can't wait to read this new release from the very talented Oksana Marafioti, a long time member of my Las Vegas Writers Group. She has such an amazing story and I am looking forward to reading it in book form.

1 like · like · see review

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About Oksana Marafioti

I was born in the former Soviet Union, which almost makes me a relic in a sense that this memorable event took place in a country that no longer exists.
I could tell you more about my life, but it's been rather average, I think, so I'll sum up. A stage family, a childhood touring with Romani (Gypsies),moved to America at fifteen, went to Hollywood High Performing Arts Magnet School, dad opened a ps...more

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