A unique love story, a tale of loss, a parable of Europe, this haunting novel is an examination of intimacy and betrayal in a community rarely capt...
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reviews
Nov 14, 2011
Richard
rated it: 
What a daring idea...trace the life of a Roma poetess from early life under fascist rule in the dying democracy of Czechoslovakia to dying years in the utterly different but equally repressive "Free World" that doesn't like her unrepentant socialism...in her own voice.
McCann's up to the task. It's a very well-built book, and Zoli (a boy's name in her culture, given by her grandfather to help protect her) is a fully realized person. She lives an exciting life. She writes amazi More...
McCann's up to the task. It's a very well-built book, and Zoli (a boy's name in her culture, given by her grandfather to help protect her) is a fully realized person. She lives an exciting life. She writes amazi More...
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Oct 18, 2011
Cmorice
rated it:
"Il sent le poids qu'il porte sur lui : les deux bouteilles, le bloc-notes, les crayons, les cigarettes, le petit appareil photo et le minuscule magnétophone, planqués dans et sous ses vêtements. Il ajuste sa veste en arrivant au bout de la passerelle, saute au-dessus du dernier trou, atterrit dans la boue à vingt mètres d'une baraque. Il lève les yeux, respire un bon coup, mais ses veines vibrent comme des cordes de piano, le coeur tape dans sa poitrine, il n'aurait jamais dû venir seul. J
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Oct 09, 2010
Amberly
rated it:
Only my second 'encounter' with Gypsies after the "pikey" Brad Pitt in Snatch, I was delighted by this thoroughly moving and incredibly interesting account of Zoli's life - full of anthropological detail and restrained emotion. Unusually-literate (for a female Gypsy), poet and singer, full of resolve, survives fascists and fame, escapes and uprisings, love lost, lucky breaks and travesty, she is misunderstood and used by both sides ... but the best part is it's loosely based on the lif
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Aug 05, 2010
Zoë
rated it:
“There is an old Romani song that says we share little pieces of our heart with people and the further we go along, the less we have for ourselves until there is not enough left to go round and that’s called travelling, and it’s also called death, and since it happens to us all there’s nothing more ordinary than that.”
Zoli is the third book I have read by Irish writer Colum McCann (following Everything In My Country Must and This Side of Brightness) and the one that made me final More...
Zoli is the third book I have read by Irish writer Colum McCann (following Everything In My Country Must and This Side of Brightness) and the one that made me final More...
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Nov 06, 2010
Janel
rated it:
I heard Colum McCann speak last month and I was fascinated with how he "immerses" himself within a book while writing it. He was speaking (and reading) on Let the Great World Spin, but at times he would refer to his other books as well. While I have read books set around both World Wars, I have never read a book set in Czechoslovakia or about gypsies. Colum writes the book from Zoli's perspective as told to her adult daughter. He also writes a few sections from Stephen's point of vi
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Mar 12, 2011
Alice
rated it:
I hadn't expected an artsy book with shifting perspectives and sentences that didn't always make sense. Nor was I expecting to learn about the advent of Communism in the Slavic region. I was hoping for a reasonably fair and accurate portrayal of one Romani woman. I'm satisfied with what I ended up reading, though.
The book spans over 70 years, following the life of a fictional Romani woman around what was then Czechoslovakia, based loosely on another poet of that time. She's witne More...
The book spans over 70 years, following the life of a fictional Romani woman around what was then Czechoslovakia, based loosely on another poet of that time. She's witne More...
Feb 09, 2010
Charlaralotte
rated it: 
Continuing on my McCann kick. Found this book an excellent foray into portraying the lives of Slovakian Romani people before, during, and after WWII. Harrowing images of persecution, destruction, and the fickleness of post-war Communism. Loved the main character of Zoli. McCann's writing gave an excellent sense of what her life was like at every stage, and how her fame as a singer was manipulated by the state. Watching her cast first as a great heroine of her people and then as a great betrayer
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Jan 17, 2010
Stafford
rated it:
I first heard of Zoli and its author Colum McCann on Bookworm, a weekly podcast that I religiously listen to. I was convinced early into the half hour show that I needed to read this book partly because of my long fascination with all things Eastern European and partly for the insight that McCann expounded upon host Michael Sliverblatt’s always unique questions. The Irish author gives an original take on the Roma and a not too far flung connection I sense is the common history of persecution bet
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Nov 02, 2011
Katie
rated it:
Think Colum McCann is going to become a go-to author for me. I picked this book up after reading Let the Great World Spin and was pleasantly surprised. Most times when I pick up a second book after an impressive first I pick up on patterns - things the author does every time, themes they continue to use, plot devices they rely on too much. Not so with McCann. This book could have been written by an entirely different person save that the quality was as high as the first.
On to the book More...
On to the book More...
Oct 11, 2011
Tony
rated it:
Colum McCann, a very gifted writer, must have sought out or stumbled upon the story of a Romani (Gypsy) woman who, against convention, learns to read and write and sings her own poems to wide acclaim. McCann turns this into a novel, good enough despite the feel that it came from library research; such is his talent.
A book will be more than worth the effort, however, if the author: a) makes you think about or see a thing in a way you never saw it before; and b) says something so profo More...
A book will be more than worth the effort, however, if the author: a) makes you think about or see a thing in a way you never saw it before; and b) says something so profo More...
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Jan 09, 2011
Laura
rated it:
Kind of a disappointment after reading Let the Great World Spin, which I loved, but not a bad book in its own right. The author uses the same technique of switching from perspective to perspective, including switches from first- to third-person within the same perspective, which is kind of cool. At the same time, the pacing of the book felt awkward, particularly the section narrated from Swann's perspective - it just moved way too fast. Perhaps the author intended this effect, but it felt jarrin
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Nov 21, 2011
Martina
rated it: 
I loved this book. I started reading it on the airplane journey home from Vienna after a long weekend (and a previous novel by Josef Roth) immersed in the Hapsburg empire. It felt very appropriate. The book creates a rich atmosphere of the nomadic lifestyle of gypsies during and after World War II in the areas of what once was the Austro-Hungarian empire. The book also takes place in part during the transition years of communism in what is today Slovakia. I learned much about the Romani lif
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May 07, 2011
Kalen
rated it:
Colum McCann is a magician with words and while I didn't like Zoli as much as I liked Dancer and Let the Great World Spin, I still found myself mesmerized by Zoli and her world. The research that must have gone in to this for an Irishman to recreate the world of a Gypsy in eastern Europe during the middle part of the last century is incomprehensible to me.
The book bogged down a bit somewhere in the middle, but the last quarter or so was so strong. I've got two more novels of his lef More...
The book bogged down a bit somewhere in the middle, but the last quarter or so was so strong. I've got two more novels of his lef More...
Feb 05, 2009
Zoli, Colum McCann's fourth novel, astounded critics with its sheer range of vision. While painting detailed strokes of the political tumult of the mid- to late-20th century, from the Nazis to the Communists to the fall of the Berlin Wall, Zoli also personalizes the plights of individuals through different narrators, including an elderly Zoli. Vivid details, a gripping story, and fine prose complement this rare glimpse into an exiled culture. Only the New York Times critic described the characte
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Sep 18, 2011
Florence
rated it:
This book had my full attention from first page until the last. Koli, a Roma woman has experienced tragedy early in her life when her entire family was murdered by Slovakia's fascist police in the 1930s. But it was my good fortune to pick up this novel and follow her life through the years. Koli, a fictional character, is a literate gypsy, quite unusual for the times. She was also a poet who had an uncanny ability to translate her people's history into song and verse. She paid a heavy price
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Sep 02, 2010
Baljit
rated it: 
Interesting tale about life of Zoli, a Romani girl. The Romanis or Gypsies originated from the plains of Eastern Europe and lived a nomadic life of the land, trading thier wares and taking thier music and poetry with them. Their carefree lifestyle was at odds with the socialist regimes of Eastern Europe and they were persecuted. Zoli was a poet-singer who was persuaded by an English jounalist to record her work for publication. This brought her fame initially, but later she was accused of betray
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Oct 31, 2011
Suzy
rated it:
I loved this book. Colum McCann is a very good writer. I think partly what I mean by that is that his writing evokes feelings, without being schmaltzy. Zoli is a book about how the best of intentions can go awry. It's about tremendous suffering and how stultifying blame and self-protection can be (or maybe that's just something I got from it). It's also about survival. Finally, it is an interesting study of what can happen to a "rescued" underclass. I liked the book too, because
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Dec 22, 2011
Heather
rated it:
Colum McCann finds the world to be a dark, seedy place where nothing good can last. At least, that's what I think he feels after reading or trying to read two of his books. Last year I read Let the Great World Spin, as a part of my effort to read more male authors, and more literary fiction. Reading that review now, I can see that my feelings on McCann's writing are very similar now, having tried unsuccessfully to read his novel Zoli.
Here is what Amazon has to say about the plot of More...
Here is what Amazon has to say about the plot of More...
Sep 03, 2011
Jaron
rated it:
Two and a half stars.
There are certainly a lot of good things to be said about this book: It's a National Book Award Winner. It's well written, with short, eloquent sentences that were clearly labored over. It's about subject matter -- a wandering, persecuted gypsy poet -- that not a lot of books have mined.
My main problem was that I did not find the story interesting or compelling at all. I was not, at any point, curious about how the story would end, or about what would hap More...
There are certainly a lot of good things to be said about this book: It's a National Book Award Winner. It's well written, with short, eloquent sentences that were clearly labored over. It's about subject matter -- a wandering, persecuted gypsy poet -- that not a lot of books have mined.
My main problem was that I did not find the story interesting or compelling at all. I was not, at any point, curious about how the story would end, or about what would hap More...
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Jan 17, 2012
Perhaps one day I'll finish this book--if I somehow stop having access to other books, am holed up in my house, and have an ample supply of happiness and comfort to get me through the last tiny bit I have left. I'm perhaps one chapter from the end, but the thing got so unimaginably depressing in the last half that I think I'm finally making the decision to call it quits. Reading it has become like slogging through a field with no foliage except densely packed stinging nettles. It's painful and t
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Apr 13, 2011
Tiffany
rated it:
Colum McCann, you can apparently do no wrong in my eyes. I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU. But you know, in a non-stalker kind of way. Sort of. Ha ha.
Zoli is my third McCann novel, and I have yet to encounter anything that resembles even a small chink in his writing. The guy is smooth. I often catch myself emitting tiny sounds when I read a McCann novel, either a sigh or a gasp or a grunt of affirmation. Something about the way he writes tickles my brain, and I'm always stunned at his astute ob More...
Zoli is my third McCann novel, and I have yet to encounter anything that resembles even a small chink in his writing. The guy is smooth. I often catch myself emitting tiny sounds when I read a McCann novel, either a sigh or a gasp or a grunt of affirmation. Something about the way he writes tickles my brain, and I'm always stunned at his astute ob More...
Jan 03, 2008
Chris
rated it:
I have been dying to read this book since it came out, but was holding out for the paperback (and I happened upon a copy of a UK edition used). It's the story of a gypsy woman from Slovakia, a poet (unusual) and musician. We follow her life during WWII, while being persecuted and quarantined and crushed. She follows her heart and lives her life of struggle.
I did have problems reading this though, it jumps around a lot from one time period to another and from one voice to another, whic More...
I did have problems reading this though, it jumps around a lot from one time period to another and from one voice to another, whic More...
Jun 27, 2007
Tom
rated it:
I had heard my roommate talk about Papusza, the Gypsy poet whom inspired this novel, after he returned from a trip to the Balkans last summer. Something or other brought the novel back to my attention and I ordered a copy from Amazon. After about two weeks I sat down and read the introduction. I was transfixed -- a man drives into a gypsy village in the present day, plies them with cigarettes, liquor, money, etc., eventually earning their trust, he thinks, so he can interview them. When he asks
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Apr 26, 2007
Tim
rated it:
"It struck me that the world is as varied in goodness as it is in evil..." the sometimes narrator of Zoli remarks as her long journey nears its end. Zoli is a displaced person from the beginning of this novel and continues to be one throughout. Her group of Roma die early on, before we even meet them, at the hands of fascists. She and her grandfather must join another group and spend WWII being harassed by the authorities. They are forced to register as musicians and bury their harps i
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Jul 02, 2010
Linda
rated it:
A wonderfully sympathetic story of European gypsy life as the Communist revolution devolved into its own brand of fascism and terror. McCann created a heroine of extraordinary will and grit. Zoli went through more horror than a soul can endure and yet at the end of the book, when Zoli, in her night dress, joins the party in progress in her daughter's living room, the narrative concludes with: She begins... and we know that we too can let go of the past and start to sing again.
Jul 04, 2009
Leslie
rated it:
The book started off really strong - I was engrossed. Then, about halfway through, I just lost interest, and didn't finish before it was due at the library. I may give it a try again someday.
The part that engrossed me was the story of young Zoli, a Romani girl growing up in Czechoslovakia in the 1940s-1950s. The life and culture of the Romanis is very private, so even this fictional glance inside is an interesting one.
UPDATE: I ended up finishing the book after all. I was More...
The part that engrossed me was the story of young Zoli, a Romani girl growing up in Czechoslovakia in the 1940s-1950s. The life and culture of the Romanis is very private, so even this fictional glance inside is an interesting one.
UPDATE: I ended up finishing the book after all. I was More...
Sep 28, 2011
Diane
rated it:
This book tells the story of a Gypsy woman living in Central Europe from the Second World War until the early 21st century. The subject matter sounded interesting, but I found the characters to be not developed very well. Also, the author kept skipping between past and present, which became confusing because the author would refer to a character as "he" or "she" and it wasn't clear who it was. I also found the plot to be somewhat predictable.
Oct 04, 2010
Loralie
rated it:
I really enjoyed this book. It is about a Romani woman (gypsy) growing up in Slovakia during the second world war, and how she becomes shunned from the people she loves, and what happens to her people when the Iron Curtain comes down. I never knew that over a milliion Romani were killed in the concentration camps. I thought it was a relevant read, with the current controversy of the exportation of the Romani peoples from France.
Feb 08, 2009
Michelle
rated it:
Apart of me enjoyed reading this book a little. There were some random things about it i enjoyed reading about like the music and culture of gypsy people but I think this book romanticizes the lifestyle too much.
About 2/3 of the way through the book started to lose me. I ended up skimming a lot of the last 50 pages or so. The story just trailed on into too many different directions that it didn't really keep me into it.
My other problem with this book was that it was More...
About 2/3 of the way through the book started to lose me. I ended up skimming a lot of the last 50 pages or so. The story just trailed on into too many different directions that it didn't really keep me into it.
My other problem with this book was that it was More...
Oct 01, 2008
Sarah
rated it:
I am ashamed to admit that I bought this book because I thought the cover was pretty AND it was signed by the author- oh and it was on sale for 50% off... The story itself, eh?
After reading it I was really glad that I had picked it up. It is a creatively narrated story that made me feel about the characters what I believe the characters themselves made other players in the story feel. For example, I was intrigued by Zoli but I always felt like I was at arm's distance and was never More...
After reading it I was really glad that I had picked it up. It is a creatively narrated story that made me feel about the characters what I believe the characters themselves made other players in the story feel. For example, I was intrigued by Zoli but I always felt like I was at arm's distance and was never More...
