The Zookeeper's Wife : : a war Story

Locations
Call Number: 940.531 Ac, Adult Book / Nonfiction / History / World War II / Ackerman, Diane
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Traverwood Branch, Westgate Branch

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Four Stars submitted by Sara W on June 21, 2011, 1:58am I found the fact that this is a true story to be the most captivating thing about it. The concept of a kind-hearted and courageous animal-loving couple converting their bombed-out Warsaw Zoo into a safe compound for Jewish refugees from the Ghetto is a great jumping-off place for a great fiction story.

Diane Ackerman uses the zookeeper's wife's diary and letters to help connect her readers to the family, and she is able to draw out the warmth and humanity of Antonina and her husband quite successfully.
There are also moments of real suspense, where there is danger of discovery, or a reconnaissance mission to the Ghetto nearly goes wrong.

However, I found the story slightly... dry. While I enjoyed much about it, overall I was left a little unsatisfied. Perhaps I wanted greater detail, perhaps more historical context (although Ackerman does provide some historical detail and exploration of the Nazi goals), I just didn't find the entire book as compelling as I had expected. Some of this may be because, while beautiful, Ackerman's lyrical prose didn't quite fit the story she was telling.

Captivating submitted by Zekicmom on June 17, 2017, 7:07am I couldn't put this book down. I have read many books about the holocaust, but this one was from a perspective that was new to me. Recommended.

Just Alright submitted by jbranski on June 19, 2018, 11:31pm This is an amazing story, but the writing style and structure feels off. It comes off as detached and uninvested in the horrors that are unfolding.

Much more than I expected submitted by Susan4Pax -prev. sueij- on June 16, 2022, 10:21pm This book was not what I expected, and it was better for it. Mostly because I had seen previews for the movie (which I haven’t watched), I thought it would be a personal-interest story about Antonina (the zookeeper’s wife) and running a safe house for Jews during the WWII. Instead, it is the story of Warsaw before and during the Nazi occupation, centered around the thread of the zoo, and with Antonina (because of her journals) as the center of that. Those are two very different things in scope, and I loved what the book was, because it really included a much wider range including the Warsaw Ghetto, how the Nazi’s viewed animals from bugs to horses, travel, food, the resistance, and much more.

In the same way that Moneyball wasn’t about one manager and The Blind Side wasn’t about a white lady who took on a Black kid, The Zookeeper’s Wife wasn’t really about Antonina. It’s nonfiction that reads like fiction, teaches about Warsaw during the Nazi occupation, and I both enjoyed it and learned a lot.