13 JANUARY 1996, page 31

Throbbing With A Passion For Life

Andrew Barrow THE SHRINE by Cristina Odone Weidenfeld, £15.99, pp. 248 T he publication during the panto season of this high-spirited and upbeat novel seems rather appropriate.......

Persecuted But Unlovable

Edward Lucas BURY ME STANDING: THE GYPSIES AND THEIR JOURNEY by Isabel Fonseca Chatto, £18, pp. 304 N omadic entrepreneurs and commu- nism do not mix. There is little room for a......