Overall an enjoyable read, learned a lot about WWII in Poland... as far as quality of writing, not the best. Sometimes found it scattered, jumping back and forth between the zoo and historical lessons.

I’ve read a few WW2 biographical fiction type books, and this was similar to those except it was set in Poland. This story is a heart wrenching story about two Polish zookeepers, Jan and Antonina as they try to readjust to German invaded Poland. Once successful zoo owners, the two struggle to convert what space they have left to hide Jews who have escaped capture and are on their way to more permanent homes. We hear about how Jan is able to sneak into the ghettos, saving animal collections as well as people and how Antonina tries to maintain a household with many guests and raising her son, Rys, to not know too much, lest he spill the beans. I found myself getting a bit confused with some of the animal details, but to me that does not detract from the amazing strength of the Polish people who did everything in their power to maintain an underground way to save as many as they found. I was still struck by their strength and was excited to read about parts of their story as reminders of good in the world. I remember seeing this movie on Netflix as well and will definitely be watching that when I find some free time.

Excellent - I much preferred this view of WW II to In the Garden of Beasts. Ackerman finds a unique perspective in the story of the Warsaw zoo and its many inhabitants (of all species!).

This was a slow read for me because the author gets off topic with her over-the-top descriptions. I did love this book. The story was one I had not heard before and it's important enough that people should know it.

This book ranks as one of the worst books I ever read. I only suffered through it because of my interest in the subject. What should have been a fascinating story was destroyed but the author's inability to present a focused tale. The author frequently goes off on tangents and provides meaningless information that does advance the story.

DNF
Can't think I can continue reading this, it's not my genre and the WW is not my thing.

I broke my cardinal rule and watched the film before I read this book, but I'm glad that I did. I don't usually like to compare book to film adaptation, but in this case, there is such a drastic difference between the two, I think it's necessary. The book was very tell and not show. When Ackerman describes the scene, I'm reading words rather than seeing myself in this setting. The movie was so visually descriptive and there is so much atmosphere that comes from the plot itself. Being in Poland during the Nazi occupation, one can only imagine what it would be like. This is such an important story and I wanted so much for this book to be good but the writing was disastrous. It was choppy and overly adjective. This book was not good and it's a shame because this story was based on true events and someone more capable should have been the one to share it.

It took me a long time to get through this book, so I only give it an "it was OK" rating. The story got interesting towards the end, and I do appreciate WW2 stories, but this one just had too slow of a start for me to put it on my "top reads" list.

Listening on audiobook. I felt this helped me understand with the foreign names, words, and locations. I can always get excited about a WWII story but this one had biological history and information that I never knew. Not only did it tell Antonina’s story, it also told the story of animals, officers, and Warsaw through the 40’s.

The whole premise behind this biographical work is fascinating: what does the wife of a zookeeper do during a war when the animals are gone and her family lives in occupied territory?
I had never given any thought to the idea of zoos during wartime. Perhaps I wanted to believe that animals somehow get special dispensation and bombs don't shatter their habitats; that they're kept safe and are cared-for even when humans are dying? Ok, I doubt I thought that, but that's only because I have never thought about it at all.
There is no way this story could not be depressing - it's about World War II and it takes place in Warsaw. I really do hate any material about most any war. However, there are always the stories of courage, of hope, of the human spirit that burn the brightest when taken in the context of such extreme suffering. This, of course, is one of those stories.
I love that Antonina had a way with animals. I love the pictures of her holding the badger. I love that she passed her love of animals and of humans onto her son. I love that she and her husband worked in tandem to save lives and grow a family with such tenacity. I love that they had a network of similar-minded people doing the same thing. Mostly, though, I love that she and her family survived the war.
I'm thankful Ms. Ackerman was intrigued enough to follow and then tell the Jabinski's story.