The Zookeeper's Wife

I just finished reading The Zookeeper's Wife, by Diane Ackerman, for this season's kickoff meeting of my local Book Club. This was a very affecting read for me. It is an engaging account of the events of World War II in Warsaw from the perspective of a strong, non-Jewish, Polish woman named Antonina Zabinski. It is a true story, developed from her writings and those of her husband, from diaries of the Jews who she "saved", and other historical accounts. Antonina's life as the wife of the keeper of the Warsaw Zoo was extremely colorful; there was much humor in the behavior of the animals, especially those she reared in her house. She seemed to have special gifts in communicating not only with the animals, but with people too. This quality really helped her defuse the dangerous situations that developed because she kept Jews hidden in her villa. I particularly admired her ability to communicate calm in the face of terror and to both take and give any joy that could be found in the day. This book also appealed to me for a couple of other reasons. Clearly, the author is fond of word origins and I enjoyed the explanation of a number of expressions, such as "screaming meemees" and "Molotov cocktails", that arose during wars. Also, the author uses a number of Polish words that I used to hear at home, so seeing them brought connection and comfort. Additionally, the description of attempts to resurrect extinct tarpans, aurochsen, and European bison, by back-breeding, appealed to the scientist in me. Finally, to know the story of World War II is to be sickened by the relentless suffering of so many, but I knew too little of the events in Poland and the story was so engagingly told that I learned a great deal. It's a great read.