The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story
by Diane Ackerman
1.)
Where is the book on the narrative continuum?
Mostly narrative with moments off factual, contextualized prose from Ackerman.
2.)
What is the subject of the book?
As Nazi Germany invades Poland, bombing their cities (and zoos), a husband-wife Zabinski duo secretly smuggle and house Jews inside the zoo's cages and huts throughout the course of WWII.
3.)
What type of book is it?
It is a biographical/historical book. A movie adaptation was released in 2017.
4.)
Articulate Appeal
What
is the pacing of the book?
It is slow paced--especially getting to the "main premise" of the hiding and smuggling of the Jewish peoples.
Describe
the characters of the book.
Antonina Zabinski serves as the central character alongside her husband, Jan, and their son. Other characters that maintain a strong presence are a jew Nazi officials, many of the hidden Jewish people, and the animals.
How
does the story feel?
Suspenseful and compelling.
What
is the intent of the author?
To share an interesting story about a WWII hero who is relatively unknown.
What is the focus of the story?
The focus shifts between the Nazi occupation of Poland, Polish resistance, zoos in the early 20th century, the Holocaust, and animal care. Ackerman gleans the life of the Zabinskis through the personal diary of Antonina which creates a biographical shift as well.
Does the language matter?
The focus shifts between the Nazi occupation of Poland, Polish resistance, zoos in the early 20th century, the Holocaust, and animal care. Ackerman gleans the life of the Zabinskis through the personal diary of Antonina which creates a biographical shift as well.
Does the language matter?
Yes. Antonina's diary was lyrical and emotional and Ackerman's prose needed to reflect that in her own writing.
Is the
setting important and well described?
The setting, Warsaw and the Warsaw Zoo, is crucial to the book and is aptly described.
Are
there details and, if so, of what?
Sometimes there were too many details that veered off from the book's focus. Oftentimes it felt fictional and far from the zoo itself.
Are there
sufficient charts and other graphic materials? Are they useful and clear?
There were images included which aided in my understanding of the history.
Does
the book stress moments of learning, understanding, or experience?
Yes; I believe many books that focus on the Holocaust stress these moments. I learned more about the Nazi attempts at animal husbandry and how severe their scope of racial purity extended to animals.
5.
What would a reader enjoy this book (rank appeal)?
1.) Storyline
2.) Setting
3.) Character-type
We read and discussed this for my book club and I was surprised how much some people hated it. Everyone was so used to reading fiction that they had gotten hung up on the slower nonfiction parts that weren't as easily read! Excellent job fleshing this book out to fill this! It helps add on a whole new dimension not always covered in the summary! Full points!
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