Jennifer from the Amherstview Branch recently enjoyed reading The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman, a 2007 novel that was released as a movie earlier this year.

“The Zookeeper’s Wife tells the true story of a couple who ran a zoo and when it became a farm during Nazi rule,” explains Jennifer. “Antonina, a housewife, and her husband, Jan, a zoo director, secretly sheltered Jews in their home and on the grounds.”

She says, “Antonina’s voice comes through her diaries advocating compassion for all. She sees the villa as an ‘ark’ and embodies an ethical imperative to respect life in contrast to the barbarism of the Holocaust. Her knowledge of the natural world informs her vigilant strategy. Perhaps drawing on her understanding of predator-prey relationships, Antonina likens the constant need for plotting ‘all the planes of existence and resistance’ to a ‘three-dimensional chess game.’ Motivated by the belief that ‘if any creature is in danger, you save it, human or animal,’ the couple cares for a menagerie of wounded animals and Jewish people escaping the Warsaw ghetto. While Jan arranges safe passage, transports food, teaches in the secret university, and carries out subterfuge as a lieutenant in the resistance, Antonina provides room and board, tending to family, guests and animals. Her gift for empathetic communication benefits the household. Under constant threat of discovery, Antonina’s determination to keep a convivial atmosphere is a remarkable feat.”

Under constant threat of discovery, Antonina’s determination to keep a convivial atmosphere is a remarkable feat.

“During this time, Antonina faces moral challenges as a mother. Raising her young son, Rys, is a tightrope act: how much should she tell him about the horrors of war to protect his innocence and safeguard the guests? As Rys grows from a toddler to a young boy, he becomes more aware yet does not fully understand the dire situation. At one point, one of his efforts to do more nearly exposes the sanctuary. Rys is then given a ‘job’ helping to care for the villa’s cast of four-legged animals. He gains a sense of responsibility and his relationship with these unusual companions lends itself to comic interactions that bring levity to a grave situation.”

To reserve this The Zookeeper’s Wife (available in print, e-book and e-audiobook formats) visit CountyLibrary.ca. Within a few months you will also be available to place a hold on the movie adaptation.