Very interesting read.

Reader, beware!
If you, like me, picked up this book expecting a story, based on the true life of a real WWII Zookeeper's wife, put the book down for a second.
Really!
Put it down and take a second to re-calibrate before you dive into it.
I initially wanted to rate this a 1 star because it was so far from what I expected based on the synopsis I read and that made it very hard to get into. Reading the back cover, you're led to believe you're reading historical fiction based on a true story and that the book will read like a novel (that's what I assumed, at least). But you don't get that and if that's what you want to read, you might have a hard time with this. While you do get the story of the Zabinski family and their efforts to save their neighbors and themselves during WWII, the book is not presented in a true narrative form. Rather than reading like a novel, it reads like an intense research project.
But that's not a bad thing.
The author is thorough and clearly researched everything she could to inform her understanding of the world and motives of people that came into contact with the Zabinski family. She presents information on the history and back-breeding of animals and plants as it was pertinent to Nazi agendas, for example, and while that wasn't intrinsically linked to the family at the heart of the book, it was a fascinating bit of information that brought the WWII era a bit more to life and taught me something new. There is something of historical fiction style writing in the way Ackerman weaves pieces of her source material (like memoirs and letters) together and how she fills in the blanks in the day to day business of the story but it does not read like a novel. Furthermore, while the bulk of the text does focus on Mrs. Zabinski and uses her memoir heavily, the book itself is not really her story as much as it is her family's, her home's and her city's.
It is how thoroughly the topic and people were researched and how, for the most part, accessibly the information was presented that made me keep going and ended in a 3 star review. I like to read research books and learn about different times in history through various lenses so I was able to continue with this once I gave up the idea that it was a novel. I'm not sure that the average reader in search of a WWII novel would have the same experience. If you want something that reads like All the Light We Cannot See or Salt to the Sea, you're not going to find it within this book. You might learn something new if you stick with it though.

*3.5

Good story, I might've read too many war novels recently so I'm a bit burned out on them but the story is still good.

I liked it more than I expected to. There was a lot of information about what is was like to live in occupied Poland and I had never heard before.

Oppresively beautiful. I would read this book again.

Fascinating story but long winded

Don't ask why but I'm a huge fan of books that tell the story of people's lives and how they were affected during WW2. Naturally when I heard about this story I couldn't wait to read it. I really enjoyed the story as it gave me an insight into the details and history of the Nazi ideology that I hadn't really thought of before. I found myself fully engrossed in the chapters about the actual story and main characters, but, found myself bored in the chapters that to me were unnecessary and over detailed, with reels and reels of background information about characters who were not integral to the plot in my opinion. I found these tedious and found my concentration slipping away. I'm not one to not finish something I start reading and thankfully the chapters I was engrossed in were enough to keep me interested.

It's interesting for me to be able to compare this having read Schindler's List. While there is still a bit of information and names to keep track of, this was much easier to read than Schindler's List and was written with a more smooth flowing narrative. The storyline is incredible, especially as it is based on a true story (and I am all the more excited to see the movie adaptation that will be out this March).

I really enjoyed the extra details and descriptions of the animals, locations, and people in this book.

This is a fascinating tale of wartime Poland (WWII). Great descriptions of Polish culture and the heroic actions of several member of the Resistance, focusing on the zookeeper's family in Warsaw.

This book will make you want to travel to Poland. And if you happen to be Polish by heritage, this really is a must read.

Given the time period, there are atrocities described within the pages. Ackerman does not sugarcoat, but neither does she dwell on these (as Wiesel does in "Night"). Don't let the subject matter put you off.