Third Addition in Celtic Trilogy Offers Good Traditional Storytelling
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THE ONCE AND FUTURE CELT: A Memoir
by Bill Watkins
ISBN 10: 0-9765201-9-2
Scarletta Press |
"There are only three kinds of men
That fail to understand women;
Young men, old men and middle-aged men."
- Old Irish proverb
Reviewed by Sharon Greer
A memoir (from the French, memoire and from the Latin memoria, meaning memory) is a reminiscence or subclass of autobiography. In today's terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable.
Memoirs though are less structured than formal autobiographical works as they usually only tell a part of a life rather than a whole one. And such is the case with Bill Watkins' last installment of a trilogy, The Once and Future Celt: A Memoir.
In Britain, the gypsies or Romany, have suffered a long and negative history among the general population. Often portrayed as ne'er-do-well thieves, they are feared and ostracized by society at large.
Stranded in a gypsy camp with an injured foot, 21-year-old Bill is cared for by a couple of Romany women. Bill is awestruck by one of them, the beautiful but unattainable Riena.
His time among these misunderstood folk challenges his negative perceptions and his ability on the fiddle, along with his keen interest in their culture, enables the gypsies to accept him. He discovers that his own Celtic roots after all, are very similar to those of the much maligned Romany.
This section of the book is definitely the most engaging and as the story changed course, I found my mind wandering back to Bill's earlier adventure at the gypsy camp.
Although his return for a short stint to his parents' home in Birmingham and our introduction to his hard-nosed Irish mother and gentle Welsh father prove rewarding in themselves. His father takes him on a journey to his ancestral homeland to reveal some family secrets.
This is a story of identity, family, the origins of language, and an attempt at trying to understand women. But, ultimately it is an account of a young man trying to discover himself. It's good, traditional storytelling.
Bill Watkins was born in Birmingham in 1950 into a Irish/Welsh family. The Once and Future Celt completes the trilogy that began with A Celtic Childhood, and Scotland is Not for the Squeamish.
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