It is human nature to judge a book by its cover. We do it all the time in regards to most things in life. Today I am talking about this trait in the literal sense. I will browse through a library or bookstore and choose books based on what they look like, reading the back and trying to get an overall feel for the book. I mean, what else is there to go on if I don’t already know the author or haven’t read a review.
Most of the time, as well, a book is covered in positive reviews and accolades, which are there to help sell the book. You would think that after all this time and the number of books I’ve read I would have picking books out down to a science. Well, Diane Ackerman’s latest novel, The Zookeeper’s Wife, once again proved that I absolutely do not! This book is inviting to look at and has been beautifully and expensively published. It is Second World War historical fiction, my favourite genre. It is about heroism, intrigue, espionage and the triumphs of human nature. As well, it is covered in praise from some of the top book reviewers out there. Needless to say, I was excited to read this book and was looking forward to hopefully recommending a spectacular book to my readers. Alas, this is not to be. I have never seen an author take such an interesting, true story and deliver it such a mind-numbing way.
After their zoo was bombed, Polish zookeepers Jan and Antonia Zabinski, managed to save more than 300 people from the Nazis by hiding refugees in empty animal cages. They did this by exploiting the Nazi’s obsession with rare animals. With animal names for these “guests,” and human names for the animals, it’s no wonder that the zoo’s code name was “The House Under the Crazy Star.” The story follows the evolution of the zoo from one of Warsaw’s biggest attractions to an underground railway type of operation.
You might remember that a couple of columns ago I highly recommended a novel called Bird’s Eye View which delivered historical facts in an appealing, easy going way that made the story absorbing. With a different approach, Ackerman has conveyed the historical facts in this book in an analytical, detailed list-like fashion, reading more like a textbook than a novel. There are whole paragraphs that have absolutely nothing to do with the story and feel like they have been added to fill out the book because the author didn’t want to waste all the research she had done. It’s an attention-grabbing subject, with a monotonous approach if there ever was one.
This book is proof that once again, the old adage, “never judge a book by its cover” rings true. I give The Zookeeper’s Wife a 1.5/5.
