''Zoli'' is a novel by

Colum McCann Colum McCann (born February 28, 1965) is an Irish writer of literary fiction. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, and currently resides in New York. He is known as an international writer who believes in the "democracy of storytelling." He has won ...

. It follows the life of Marienka Novotna, nicknamed "Zoli", a Slovak

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...

woman, from her childhood in the 1930s, through her exile in the 1950s, to her late adult life. Although Zoli is a fictional character, her life is loosely based on that of the Polish Romani poet Papusza (Bronisława Wajs). ''Zoli'' explores the persecution of the Roma faced during World War II, as well as the impact of totalitarianism on

Romani culture Romani culture encompasses the regional cultures of the Romani people. These cultures have developed through complex histories of interaction with their surrounding populations. Romani people constitute the largest ethnic minority in Europe. ...

and lifestyles and experiences of otherness and marginalisation faced by Romani people in Europe. The novel is written from multiple perspectives, that include both first and third person narration.

External links

Review of ''Zoli'' at Canada.com

Compilation of Newspaper reviews at ReviewsOfBooks.com

"Colum McCann's top 10 novels on poets"
''The Guardian'', 3 October 2006
Radio interview
Bookworm, 22 March 2007
Interview
The Morning News, 3 May 2007 2006 American novels Fictional representations of Romani people Irish-American novels Novels set in Europe Novels set during World War II {{2000s-WWII-novel-stub

See also

External links