Zoli by Colum McCann

I was really looking forward to this book, because McCann's Let the Great World Spin was one of my favorite books from last year. And I was disappointed. Perhaps if I had not expected so much....

This is the story of Zoli, a Romani (Gypsy) poet in 1930s Slovakia. Persecuted by Fascists, who killed the rest of her family, Zoli and her grandfather join a new clan and she begins a new era in her life, as a singer and poet. Once the Communists take charge, she becomes a celebrity among Communist intellectuals, even being used on posters for Gypsy resettlement. Eventually, her clan is forced by the new government to abandon their wagons to live in multi-story apartments, all in the name of progress; her secret lover betrays her by publishing her poems (frowned upon by Romani tradition); and she is formally shunned by the Romani, never again to be part of any clan. She flees, to begin life again. Almost half of the novel is devoted to her flight and her new life.

In my judgment, a successful novel must have at least one of these elements: a riveting plot, good characterization, a poetic voice, something worthwhile to say about humanity or the world, some general wrong addressed that needs to be righted, a unique way to tell a story. The ideal novel would include all of these attributes.

For me, this novel did not include enough of any of the above to make it worthwhile; I nodded off while reading. (This was my "night-book." I almost always read two books at once--one in the day while I'm babysitting and one at night.) It was not a difficult book to read, but I found it tedious and boring, because I really didn't care about the characters or what happened to them.
I suppose it does call attention to the almost-universal rejection by the world of the Romani people, but the case was not presented forcefully enough to involve me.

I would not recommend this book, nor would I read it again. It's back to Half-Price Books with this one.