From the Bookshelf of Around the World in 80 Books…

The Zookeeper's Wife

Diane Ackerman

Start date: April 15, 2015

Finish date: May 15, 2015

Discussion: Group Reads Discussions

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By Diane , Armchair Tour Guide · 3 posts · 1370 views

last updated Jan 18, 2013 07:12PM

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What Members Thought

Aug 18, 2022 Rachel N. rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: world-war-ii, nonfiction, poland, read-in-2022

The story itself is interesting but the writing of this book is horrible. I wish someone else had written the Zabinski's story. The writing is dry and choppy. The author frequently meanders off topic into long descriptions of things I didn't care about. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Jan 21, 2015 Karen rated it liked it

Shelves: travel-the-world

This was not the best book written on Warsaw during WWII, but I did learn some things that I didn't know before about the underground. Jan and Antonina Zabinski were the zookeepers for the Warsaw zoo during the war . The busy atmosphere of the zoo made it easy for the Zabinskis to hide anyone that wanted to escape the Germans.

The pros: interesting account of the war.
The cons: the book was overwritten, too descriptive, and digressed often from the real story. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 22, 2016 Tanya rated it liked it

Shelves: 2016, format-audiobook, challenge-2016-colapub

This was an interesting story. I had expected it to be a bit different in format though and so it took some time for me to get into the people this story was about. I found the details interesting, and it will make a good movie. It did take me two different attempts to finally make it through the book. I listened to this as an audiobook and that may have made the difference.

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Oct 17, 2010 Laura (booksnob) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, humanities-reading-list, non-fiction

This astonishing true story takes place in Warsaw, Poland during World War II. Jan and Antonina Zabinski own a successful zoo and enjoy a supreme love of animals. Unfortunately when the Germans attack Poland in 1939, their zoo is bombed and many of their animals are killed. The Zabinski's are fighters and right away, Jan joins the underground and works to sabotage the Germans while Antonina stays at home to protect her children and the many "guests" that hide out in animal cages on their way to ...more

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Nov 13, 2011 Andy Plonka rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Not just a zoo story but the story of a family that ran the zoo in Warsaw, Poland and how they survived the war. Shows the cohesiveness of the Polish people no matter what their religious beliefs.

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Jun 13, 2018 Wes F rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Audiobook from OCLN. Liked the movie better, though there was some interesting things about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising & the Polish resistance to German occupation. It was just a bit flat and I never really connected to the characters.

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Aug 11, 2010 Daisy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: poland, eastern-europe, ww2, audio-library-books

How a woman with an instinctive understanding of animals uses it to live through WW2 in Warsaw, Poland and to help others survive.
Uneven, hard to listen to because of some subject matter, some dry, tedious sections, and the narrator's odd intonations and stresses. Some parts of this book held my interest, but in general I couldn't wait till it was over. ...more

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