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Call Me Zebra
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
From an award-winning young author, a novel following a feisty heroines idiosyncratic quest to reclaim her past by mining the wisdom of her literary iconseven as she navigates the murkier mysteries of love. Zebra is the last in a line of anarchists, atheists, and autodidacts. When war came, her family didnt fight; they took refuge in books. Now alone and in exile, Zebra leaves New York for Barcelona, retracing the journey she and her father made from Iran to the United States years ago. Books are Zebras only companionsuntil she meets Ludo. Their connection is magnetic; their time together fraught. Zebra overwhelms him with her complex literary theories, her concern with death, and her obsession with history. He thinks shes unhinged; she thinks hes pedantic. Neither are wrong; neither can let the other go. They push and pull their way across the Mediterranean, wondering with each turn if their love, or lust, can free Zebra from her past.? ? An adventure tale, a love story, and a paean to the power of language and literature starring a heroine as quirky as Don Quixote, as introspective as Virginia Woolf, as whip-smart as Miranda July, and as spirited as Frances Ha, Call Me Zebra will establish Van der Vliet Oloomi as an author on the verge of developing a whole new literature movement (Bustle).
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review
JSW
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
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Pickpick

I have so many thoughts about this brilliant, original, incomprehensible, and ultimately truthful book. I can totally see why YMMV. If ever a book felt like what it‘s like to go through therapy, this is it. Zebra is fragile, traumatized, intelligent and sensitive to the point that she is unable to accept her own humanity. This is the story of how she learns to accept the brokenness of being a human. More thoughts in comments as they come to mind.

JSW Zebra is someone who tries to escape life by hiding in intellectualism, by refusing to engage with others on any terms but her own, and by denying her body what it needs. The author did a fantastic job of understanding and showing us what it‘s like to be this type of person. 6y
JSW Being privy to this type of psyche struggle is really uncomfortable, but ultimately rewarding. As a counselor, I‘ve seen people wrestle with themselves and with life in this existential way and it‘s hard to witness their pain. I‘ve also seen others reject their loved ones for feeling as Zebra does and for questioning the norm; it mirrors how some have rejected this book. That‘s normal but I challenge us to work harder to understand impossible... (edited) 6y
JSW ... people like Zebra. She‘s trying her best, and thanks to people engaging with her in real, relatively healthy ways, she comes to realize what‘s important. (Please note I am not condoning putting up with toxic people. ) 6y
JSW Zebra is desperately trying to feel connected, to feel belonging, even if that belonging is defined as being unconnected (exile). The author has really nailed what a person without roots feels like, acts like, developmentally. Just so accurate. 👏🏼👏🏼 6y
JSW This is also a powerful story about how we are unmoored in grief. 6y
22 likes5 comments
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JSW
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
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Zebra is tragic and funny and impossible, yet insightful about her pain and her mission in life. This is how I feel about being a direct speaker, too. “I survive in order to leave testimony.”

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JSW
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
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Stealing a moment for this flawed, quirky protagonist. Lots of Litsy folx don‘t care for this one, but I‘m loving it.

Emilymdxn I had mixed feelings about it, mainly cause I felt I didn‘t ‘get‘ it - if you understand it more than I did more power to you and I hope you enjoy it! 6y
JSW Thanks, @Emilymdxn !! 6y
30 likes2 comments
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BarbaraBB
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
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The first bracket today in the #ToB2019. I haven‘t read Zebra (I literally have not read one positive review). I read Warlight last Summer and don‘t remember much about it. I know I didn‘t find it as good as some other books by Ondaatje but for now I think it should go to the second round of the Tournament. Any thoughts?

mklong I loved Warlight and heard so many scathing reviews of Zebra that I skipped that one. Despite that, I have a weird feeling that Zebra will win today. 6y
BarbaraBB @mklong That would be interesting. I must admit that I hope for some surprises as some of the brackets seem so obvious! 6y
BkClubCare Didn‘t read either. And wow do people hate Zebra! I do think it odd that I seem to sense an “all quiet” abt Warlight. Can‘t recall reading ANY reviews or murmurs good nor bad. 6y
See All 8 Comments
Redwritinghood I didn‘t read Zebra either. I also found Warlight sort of boring. 6y
Ruthiella I loved Warlight but I find that I really gel with Ondaatje‘s writing style! I liked Zebra more than other contenders. It was a very smart book but with a sense of the absurd that missed me a bit. (edited) 6y
BarbaraBB @mklong @BkClubCare @Redwritinghood @Ruthiella No surprises here, Warlight made it to the next round. No need to read Zebra 😅 6y
arubabookwoman I agree about Warlight being so-so, and haven‘t read Zebra. I did enjoy Transcription by Kate Atkinson, also set in WW II London and involving spies. 6y
mklong Phew! I‘m so glad to be wrong about that one. From what I hear, Zebra is just awful. 6y
61 likes8 comments
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Mindyrecycles
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
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Bailedbailed

#tob2019 progress. I could not stand Call Me Zebra and gave it up quickly. Just started Italian Teacher and should finish it before Wednesday, but it‘s not looking good for Overstory. 😢 Milkman is still my favorite...just an astonishing work.

lynneamch Good to know about Milkman. I'll be reading it for bookclub. 6y
BarbaraBB Wow, you‘re almost there. In time! Good job! 6y
Rachel_nyc Call Me Zebra was by far my least favorite of the shortlist! 6y
Mindyrecycles @lynneamch Oh I hope all of you love it. Please let us know! 6y
80 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Emilymdxn
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
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Mehso-so

Hated this, then realised at the end ‘what it all meant‘ and suddenly thought it was v clever - but that doesn‘t mean I enjoyed the first 3/4 of it. Intense character portrait of an incredibly damaged woman whose trauma makes her intensely pretentious, cruel and pompous. The psychology of it was amazing but it‘s hard to maintain interest in a narrator who‘s that overblown with her belief that she‘s the only person who understands literature.

Ruthiella Agree. It took me to the end to “get it” 😮 6y
Rachel_nyc Great review! I wanted so badly to have compassion and empathy for Zebra but she was so obnoxious! 6y
56 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Emilymdxn
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
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I read the reviews and thought I‘d hate this, and more than hating it I‘m just confused? I don‘t know what the author wants to say to me or wants me to feel by making the narrator who‘s survived awful things and lost everything such an awful snob? Idk maybe that is the point

I‘m trying not to find her awful as I‘m sure that‘s not the point, but I truly hate the idea of ‘the 0.1%‘ of the intelligentsia being the only people who can really think?

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bookandcat
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
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Two books for #24in48 #readathon done so far! I've fallen behind on my reviews for this year, these are books 27 and 28 for 2019. Call Me Zebra was a pretty wild read - I think it's one you either hate or love because it comes across as so pretentious. I ended up rating it highly, because I loved the bonkers philosophical stuff the author was doing.

Good luck with everyone doing the readathon! I don't know if I'll make it to 24 hours this time.

bookandcat Call Me Zebra is a #tournamentofbooks #tob #tob2019 pick 6y
46 likes1 comment
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agable
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
Mehso-so

She is an unquestionably talented writer with a far better grasp of literature than I will ever have. However, to me, reading this book felt like listening to the punchline of an inside joke, the context to which I was not invited.

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agable
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi

First up in the 2019 #TournamentOfBooks

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Mjk20a
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
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How serious was I supposed to take this novel? In all honesty, I did the audio and laughed throughout but wasn‘t sure it was supposed to be a comic novel, at least not as much as I was taking it to be. Would like to hear other reader‘s thoughts...

agable About halfway through now. I feel the same. 6y
2 likes1 comment
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cherylmorton
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
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Panpan

This was not a bad book, but it was not for me. I felt like it was 10% interesting and 90% impenetrable.

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The_Real_Nani
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
Pickpick

I‘m so on the fence about this book, especially the ending. But it‘s definitely more than so-so, so I‘m going to give it a 🤘🏻

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Nitpickyabouttrains
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
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Panpan

I did not care for this book. The main character was insufferable. It had a ton of name dropping of authors and books. I could not tell if the author thought it was clever or knew it was offputting and had done it like that on purpose.

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HardcoverHearts
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
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Day one of the Bay Area Book Festival haul! Many of these were signed by the authors. I‘m exhausted but excited to come back for round two tomorrow.

emilyhaldi Awesome stack!! 👏🏻👏🏻 7y
Reviewsbylola Sooooo jealous 😍😍 7y
merelybookish Beautiful! 7y
44 likes1 stack add3 comments
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The_Real_Nani
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
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This narrator is, pardon my French, an asshole. Seriously damaged.

2 likes1 comment
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taylor_etc
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
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Just in from the library. Excited to read as the cover describes: “An adventure tale, a love story, and a paean to the power of language and literature, starring the heroine as quirky as Don Quixote, as introspective as Virginia Woolf, as who-smart as Miranda July and as spirited as Frances Ha...”

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The_Real_Nani
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
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I have come to the conclusion that we are seeing a narrator that has been driven insane or eccentric by her trauma. I mean, she is 🥜. But she is also a prophet of sorts, right?

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EKonrad
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
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Panpan

I'm afraid I simply did not get this book at all. I was intrigued by the idea of a woman connecting to her dead parents and her heritage through literature, but I was just left confused the entire time. The MC was just way too eccentric for my taste. I found myself sort of skimming most of it (which I NEVER do!). Also, I hate relationships in fiction where it's super clear the characters hate each other but still remain together. ⭐️⭐️ #arc

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The_Real_Nani
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi

Reading this for book club and it might not have been the best pick for that sort of thing. I like the book— reminds me of Salman Rushdie but it‘s definitely not light reading...

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theshrinkette
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
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Pickpick

I enjoyed this so much on audio. Zebra falls in the "unlikeable protagonist" category, and I loved that about her. She's witty, she's snarky, she's absurd, and her relationship with Ludo is straight up fascinating and frustrating.

PictureandBook I‘m halfway thru but I am glad to hear you say she‘s unlikable 7y
CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian I love an unlikable woman protagonist! 7y
33 likes2 comments
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theshrinkette
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
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A heroine tracing her family's history via literature. HELLO WHEELHOUSE.

balletbookworm Oooh, ohhh, is this nonfiction???? I think we have the same wheelhouse 😂😂 7y
balletbookworm Fiction, but still in the wheelhouse 7y
50 likes1 stack add3 comments
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mrozzz
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
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Such a good use of a Friday night observing the brilliance of Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi and the wise words Lynne Tillman. 🤓

Littens, this is definitely one to check out! Azareen has lived around the world and created an “uncooperative” female MC, likely inspired by her own background. 🙌🏻

GatheringBooks interesting premise. :) 7y
LazyDays You're so lucky to love in a city the can host book readings/signings!😄👏🌈🎉 7y
mrozzz @LazyDays I really am! So I take advantage of as many as I can! 7y
mrozzz @GatheringBooks definitely!! 7y
LazyDays @mrozzz YAY!🌈🎉 7y
128 likes7 stack adds5 comments
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Tara
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
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Library haul 📚😬

shortsarahrose Impressive (and/or intimidating) 7y
7 likes1 comment
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Lacythebookworm
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
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Spending a little time with my book and coffee before my first meeting starts. I‘ve got a full day of meetings and extroverting so I‘ve got to mentally prepare myself 🤓

JoScho Reading helps with all that extroverting we have to do. 7y
Lacythebookworm @JoScho Yes! And I‘m so grateful for that! ☺️ 7y
readsusieread You got this!!! 💖💩 7y
Lacythebookworm @readsusieread Thanks, pal! 😘 7y
91 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Liberty
Call Me Zebra | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
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Received an amazing selection of @hmhbooks titles! They all look so good - which one should I read first??? Just kidding, the answer is Ursula. 📚📚📚

rachelm Recommendation for a first Ursula book? 7y
Liberty @rachelm Left Hand of Darkness. 7y
bitterbear 😂😂😂 I would have gone with Ursula too! 7y
rachelm Thanks! 7y
Cinfhen ☘️💚☘️💚☘️ 7y
129 likes2 stack adds5 comments