《Zoli》

The novel begins in Czechoslovakia in the early 1930s when Zoli, a young Roma girl, is six years old. The fascist Hlinka guards had driven most of her people out onto the frozen lake and forced them to stay there until the spring, when the ice cracked and everyone drowned - Zoli's parents, brothers and sisters. Now she and her grandfather head off in search of a 'company'. Zoli teaches herself to read and write and becomes a singer, a privileged position in a gypsy company as they are viewed as the guardians of gypsy tradition. But Zoli is different because she secretly writes down some of her songs. With the rise of the Nazis, the suppression of the gypsies intensifies. The war ends when Zoli is 16 and with the spread of socialism, the Roma are suddenly regarded as 'comrades' again. Zoli meets Stephen Swann, a man with whom she will have a passionate affair, but who will also betray her. He persuades Zoli to publish some of her work. But when the government try to use Zoli to help them in their plan to 'settle' gypsies, her community turns against her. They condemn her to 'Pollution for Life', which means she is exiled forever. She begins a journey that will eventually lead her to Italy and a new life. Zoli is based very loosely on the true story of the Gypsy poet, Papsuza, who was sentenced to a Life of Pollution by her fellow Roma when a Polish intellectual published her poems. But Colum has turned this into so much more - it's a brilliantly written work that brings the culture and the time to life.

科伦•麦凯恩，1965年生于爱尔兰都柏林，受其当记者的父亲影响，自小喜欢说故事，立志成为一名记者。从都柏林理工学院新闻系毕业后，科伦•麦凯恩成为《爱尔兰新闻》记者。1986年，麦凯恩为写一本小说来到美国，花费一年半时间骑车穿越北美，累积了大量小说素材。1988年至1991年，科伦•麦凯恩在得克萨斯大学获得文学学士学位，1992年与妻子艾莉森结婚后移居日本，一年半之后搬到纽约，至今与妻子和三孩子生活在那里。

从1994年出版短篇小说集《黑河钓事》至今，科伦•麦凯恩已出版六部长篇小说、两部中短篇小说集，其中，2009年出版的《转吧，这伟大的世界》获得2009年度美国国家图书奖、2011年IMPAC都柏林国际文学奖和许多国际奖项。其作品被翻译成了三十多种语言文字。

科伦•麦凯恩善于讲述人们在黑暗中探寻光明的故事，以宽阔的视野和诗意的描写著称，被称为“诗意的现实主义者”。他的写作题材宽泛，从纽约地铁隧道中的无家可归者，到北爱尔兰地区冲突，从“9•11事件”带来的创伤到欧洲吉卜赛人的生活与文化……

目前，科伦•麦凯恩在纽约市立大学亨特学院教授创意写作课。

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国外评论

《佐利姑娘》制作精良，故事优美且令人难忘。麦凯恩是第一流的作家，艺高人胆大，每本书都开拓出新的领域，挖出新的宝藏。

——约瑟夫•奥康纳

如果一个作家的最高天职是想象成为“他者”会如何，那科伦•麦凯恩就是我们当中的巨人——无畏，心怀宽广，时时刻刻都是个诗人。

——彼得•凯里

非常有力量……细节丰盈……文字平实却美丽……麦凯恩把我们带进了少有人了解的一个世界。

——《旧金山纪事报》

《佐利姑娘》讲述了一个女诗人的成长和浮沉，引人入胜。

——《波士顿环球报》

麦凯恩的文学世界宏大而细密……《佐利姑娘》文字如诗般优美，却也饱含锐利讽刺的力量。

——《纽约时报》