Rating: 
Summary: The Gypsy In All Of Us
Review: A completely first-rate novel, sublime in richly historical hysterical characterizations. In his first novel, Noble Smith fashions a completely original story-within-a-story. The subject, a smart and thumping love story which leaves you both wildly entertained, expanded in your vocabulary, and just a little more informed about the wild turns of history which by only the smallest chance may have turned out quite different for all of us.
Smith's 'Gypsy' character breathes hope into our sometimes gray hearts that we all have, deep inside of us, an erudite, bold gypsy inner-being longing to break free from the humps which define us to sing our passions to the world. The story is told smartly through a decrepit writer-in-exile's re-telling of this fantastic story to his servant. With joy we watch the transformation both he and his main character makes throughout the book, tying up spectacularly in the end.
Stolen By Gypsies is a read which will keep you on the edge of your seat, as empassioned as the Gypsy character who is striving to become his complete self. Highly recommended reading. Waiting anxiously for his next novel.
Rating:
Summary: Stolen From Gypsies
Review: A wonderfully crafted adult fairy tale liberally sprinkled with chuckles and laughs. Set in an historically believable Italian city and tastefully spiced with inoffensive bawdy language. The author obviously loves words and the reader quickly gets to enjoy the playfullness with which they are used.
Rating:
Summary: An outstanding, original novel.
Review: Ambrogio Smith is a hypochondriacal British noble living in his bed as a seeming invalid, and attended by his story-loving Italian servant Antonio, whose main duty seems to be to provide his master with warm beet enemas under the direction of a randy Hungarian quack-physician. A husky but voluptuous serving girl makes an occasional appearance in this original and ribald comedic adventure set in the early 19th century. Stolen From Gypsies is a literate novel richly textured with word play, puns, malapropisms, and unusual references. Noble Smith's skill as a literate writer and engaging storyteller is simply first rate. His frequent use of ancient vocabulary and historical name dropping are a pure delight, but keep your dictionary and glossary close to hand! Enthusiastically recommended reading, Stolen From Gypsies is further enhanced for the reader's pleasure with brilliant pen and ink illustrations providing context and illumination for the outstanding narrative text.
Rating: 
Summary: Well written, but be warned of some things.
Review: Ambrogio Smythe is obsessed with memories of gypsies. With his fortune he travels to Italy. There, he meets a wandering storyteller that spins a tale about a gypsy babe kidnapped by a demon. Since it peaks his interest, he decides to write his own version about what happened to the babe. *** WARNING: This book contains rude language and extremely vulgar descriptions! However, you would not know it until you have to start looking the words up in the glossary! Never have I read a book where I had such a hard time understanding what was going on, much less, one that it had to have a glossary! If you are very religious, beware of several words, that in my opinion were sacrilegious! Of course, these warnings alone probably just sold many of you on purchasing the book. But I want it noted that you were warned in advance here, if you go through this link to see or purchase this title. The book was historically correct. History buffs would enjoy noting all the research the author obviously had to do in order to write this tale...and it is very well written! So I find myself mixed on how to write the review. The best I could do was warn you of the contents and let you know that it is NOT just something that was slapped together. The decision, however, must remain the reader's. ***
Rating:
Summary: A Literary Farce For Sunday Reading!
Review: From the first page, the reader is yanked into a comical world filled with mistaken identities, wordplay, and love. The sparring duet of Ambrogio and his servant Antonio reminds me of the early works of Mel Brooks and Mark Twain. The banter and dialogue these two commit are only a part of the wonderful world in which Mr. Smith creates. Then comes the characters in the tale the sickly (only in his own mind) Ambrogio tells to the mindless Antonio (whose only fault with the whole tale is that it's lacking alot of detailed sex!) For a harden fiction reader, this book offers humor, adventure, romance, and a range of characters which the reader hopes Mr. Noble Smith will pursue further in another book. The only fault I found with this funny and fast-paced novel was it's length-too short! All the characters from "The Dim Avenger" to "Drapslod" have been fleshed out into bonafide 3-D people. A remarkable and pleasant change from our modern day fiction writers! I eagerly await the next adventure of the hypochondriac and his sex starved servant!
Rating:
Summary: A rollicking good read
Review: I loved this book. I recommend it if you enjoy an engaging historical backdrop, a phrase well-turned, and a tale that's just plain funny. This is a whimsical stroll through a land of wise fools, false magicians, cursed princes and lovesick, humpbacked poets, where everyone from Napoleon to the local camel vendor receives a cheerful, witty drubbing. Pay special attention to the glossary, replete with tidbits both historical and hysterical.
Rating:
Summary: A Rare Find
Review: Noble Smith - where are you? And why aren't you writing more??? Anyone who reads Stolen From Gypsies will understand it's universal 5-star rating. You don't have to be a Shakespeare connoisseur or Anglophile to enjoy this hilarious verbal romp through a magical gypsy tale - although it helps! Never fear, there's a glossary in the back for those unfamiliar with terms like "fartleberry" and "shirt-lifter." Noble's mastery of verbal repartee translates full-strength onto the page: when you hit one of the many hilarious verbal volleys, read them aloud and you'll be holding your sides with laughter. If you're looking for a baudy, somewhat raunchy, rollicking romp, do yourself a favor and pick up Stolen From Gypsies. You'll not regret it!
Rating:
Summary: A RANDY ROMP
Review: Noble Smith has crafted a comic gem steeped in history and infused with decadent wordplay. Daggers and tongues unsheathe with equal exuberance as we hear the tale of the afflicted (struck by love and an inability to articulate) Godfrey's transformation into the loquacious Gypsy. The characters are so richly drawn and the verbal exchanges so wittily executed that the novel plays like a film in the reader's mind ... with many a smile cracked along the way. The guilt of enjoying humour frequently reserved for 12-year-old boys - the breaking of wind, the making of water, the taking of mistress - is alleviated by Smith's brilliant use of language. A treasure tome not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: Stolen From Gypsies is a beautifully written laugh riot
Review: Stolen From Gypsies is an incredibly creative and fun-filled take on the classic love story. Noble Smith has created a rich and detailed fantasy world for his "book within a book" while loading the "real" world of the narrator with juicy historical tidbits. Part of the fun of the book for me was translating the invented words with the helpful glossary in the back of the book. I laughed out loud at many points during the day it took me to devour this charming book. The humor is lavished over every word, but the book is not a hollow series of comic "interlewds" (to quote one of the characters); the central messages of looking beyond surface impressions, of faith in one's self, and of relishing the beautiful in the absurd are timeless and important. Who doesn't need to be reminded of these things from time to time? Calling it a comic fairy tale for adults is about as close as I can come to categorizing Stolen From Gypsies; it defies categorization while remaining totally accessible. I highly recommend Noble Smith's Stolen From Gypsies.
Rating:
Summary: Stolen From Gypsies is a beautifully written laugh riot
Review: Stolen From Gypsies is an incredibly creative and fun-filled take on the classic love story. Noble Smith has created a rich and detailed fantasy world for his "book within a book" while loading the "real" world of the narrator with juicy historical tidbits. Part of the fun of the book for me was translating the invented words with the helpful glossary in the back of the book. I laughed out loud at many points during the day it took me to devour this charming book. The humor is lavished over every word, but the book is not a hollow series of comic "interlewds" (to quote one of the characters); the central messages of looking beyond surface impressions, of faith in one's self, and of relishing the beautiful in the absurd are timeless and important. Who doesn't need to be reminded of these things from time to time? Calling it a comic fairy tale for adults is about as close as I can come to categorizing Stolen From Gypsies; it defies categorization while remaining totally accessible. I highly recommend Noble Smith's Stolen From Gypsies.
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