Book Club Discussion #1: The Zookeeper’s Wife

[Bayou]

**We decided at last night’s book club meeting to extend our book discussions to the forums, in addition to meeting bimonthly. We hope that this will further the conversations in a format that everyone interested can participate in, whether or not you are able to attend the meetings.

We are also seeking suggestions for the next book selection.**

Book #1 The Zookeeper’s Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman

Summary: A WWII story of Jan Zabinski, the director of the Warsaw Zoo, and his wife, Antonina, who sheltered 300 Jews as well as Polish resisters in their villa and in animal cages and sheds. Using Antonina’s diaries, other contemporary sources and her own research in Poland, the author takes us into the Warsaw ghetto and the 1943 Jewish uprising and also describes the Poles’ revolt against the Nazi occupiers in 1944.

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[JoB]

step 2.. online discussion?

I have mixed reviews for this book. I am glad i read it because the subject matter made me think about some things in a different way…

such as… i had no idea that zoo reform was so far advanced by the time of the second world war. It’s difficult to tell with the descriptions in the book how much they had advanced in the creation of naturalized exhibits.. since I know that i hear those words in current context… but this book’s descriptions made it sound as though this zoo was far ahead of what i know to have been the leading edge here in this country in the late 50s.

I also had no idea how far reaching the Nazi ideas were on the concept of creating their perfect race.. this book made me realize that their concept of perfect society extended beyond buildings and human engineering but into the engineering of animals.. specifically mentioned was creating animals for the perfect hunt.

this has made me very curious about some of the game parks in Germany. I had never thought much about them or the wildlife in them. Now, i wouldn’t visit that area of the world without making a point to experience them. The nazis were successful enough to genetically engineer at least the appearance of at least one ice age animal…

and the wonder of that made me think more about the importance of zoos as the repository of species that have become extinct in their natural environments…

I knew Poland was occupied.. but i wasn’t aware of the systematic effort by the nazis to eliminate the Poles and make that land available to extend Germany…

and that did make me think more about the current situation in Gaza… I don’t believe the intention is the same but i am now thinking more about the outcome…

that said, it was difficult for me to connect to the characters as the character most fully developed was a wild animal taken in as a pet….

and her lack of transition between current experience and her thoughts about visiting Prague and the story she was relating about the past were more than annoying…

So.. would i recommend it?

If you are at all interested in zoos and zoology.. yes.. heartily…

if you are at all a modern history buff or interested in how war impacts a population.. yes.. again heartily

if you don’t much like fiction but like your history and/or science wrapped in a tale.. yes.

i didn’t enjoy reading this book… i was disappointed and felt left down… but i also haven’t stopped thinking about it.

This book did spark a discussion about racial and other forms of discrimination and about human integrity.

i can’t wait to hear other people’s comments…

if you read the book and have anything to say about it.. please chime in… Don’t feel that you have to be a book club “member” to make a comment…

i think a member in this instance can be defined as anyone who takes an interest:)

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[Bayou]

There is no doubt that this book made me think and the events that it is based on are truly fascinating. Many aspects make for good discussion, especially the genetic engineering of animals by the Nazis (a concept I wasn’t very familiar with) and the conditions in Poland’s Warsaw ghetto during the war.

That said, the narrative style left much to be desired for me. I had to force myself to finish reading it because Ackerman’s writing came across very disjointed and at times the research (and endless quotes) drowned out the heart of the story. There was a lack of character development that I felt could have made the book stronger. It also really irked me that she would change tenses in the midst of a paragraph. It was jarring to “be” walking the streets of Warsaw and then suddenly jolted back to present day, looking back. There was a lack of cohesiveness in the transitions that she made from research to storytelling.

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[LisaM]

Really good points JoB, I share a lot of your thoughts about how interesting the book was from a historical perspective, yet somewhat emotionally disconnected.

I really learned a lot – I didn’t know much about how Poland was affected (beyond the ghetto).

I am such a passionate animal lover and I was crushed by the cruelty. I wanted to scream and was wondering why the characters seemed almost passive about it. But maybe it was a just a time that affected people differently. I am sure it was overwhelming and perhaps they couldn’t allow themselves to have strong emotions about animals.

I was also fascinated by the “animal engineering” and the German idea of correct animals and species. I had heard a bit about this for dog breeds and looked into it more out of curiosity.

I have not yet finished the book, but am enjoying it.

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[JoB]

LisaM..

i too was struck by the passive nature in which the characters accepted the excessive cruelty to animals…

but maybe that was because of the emotional disconnect necessary to survive what was happening not only to animals but to people…

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[LisaM]

JoB – I was thinking the same thing about the need to emotionally disconnect.

I also think that our current connection to animals has greatly evolved since that time – our understanding and acknoledgement of the intelligence and consciousness of animals is more widely recognized. At least I hope so…

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[JoB]

LisaM..

as a society, it think you are right.. but these zookeepers seem to have been unusually aware of the intelligence and consciousness of their animals for the time period they lived in…. or at least that is what the author led us to believe.

I wonder if it is possible for any author.. no matter how well versed with the time period they are writing about.. to write about the past without injecting current assumptions and standards for examining age old questions…

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[Bayou]

RE: “I wonder if it is possible for any author.. no matter how well versed with the time period they are writing about.. to write about the past without injecting current assumptions and standards for examining age old questions…”

I think that’s a valid point considering that for much of the book, we are reading the authors interpretation of Antonina’s journals.

I can’t imagine the extreme emotional disconnect that one would have to possess to survive during a time of war… and even more so to be a hidden part of the resistance. That especially seemed relevant to the son, Rys, who had few meaningful connections other than to the animals.

I’m also surprised that there wasn’t more anger and outrage at the mistreatment of their animals, especially when they were basically being stolen right in front of them to be sent to other zoos… but then again, I recognize that she was probably very careful about what she shared in her journals.

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[Zenguy]

I thought the way everyone walked around and tried not to attract attention was like an abused spouse, always worried about what would set off the abuser. I think when you are in a situation like that with such atrocities everywhere you become desensitized. And really what could any of them do?

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[JoB]

Zenguy..

apt analogy..

and like spousal abuse.. you get conditioned to increasing brutality in that situation…

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[Zenguy]

Yep and then it starts to seem normal. I was apalled by some of the scenes in the book, but glad I read it.

I have to find something happier to read.

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[JoB]

you will find the next book …three cups of tea …far more uplifting…

should you choose to read it:)

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[Author]

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