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A review by jkkb332
Zoo Story: Life in the Garden of Captives by Thomas French
5.0
I was starving for a book worthy of more than three stars, so it's no surprise that I devoured this in two short evenings. Although I did finish [b:Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show|6704682|Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show|Frank Delaney|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1276043365s/6704682.jpg|6900439] the night before, and gave it four stars, it was not the kind of book you read with any haste if you want to appreciate its depth. This book, however. This book... the fact that I read this in two nights, and Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show in about a week, says nothing negative about either book. This one is a quicker read, but that doesn't make the story shallow. There were moments of serious levity and just plain seriousness. It was well balanced, both in the emotion it portrayed and in the facts it gave regarding the great zoo dilemma (love them or hate them?). It was captivating and educational. French assumes an intelligent audience, guiding his readers to a conclusion without spelling it all out for them. He allows the reader to like or dislike at will the man who catapulted this story into existence, understanding that he's as polarizing a character as any French could have created.
The effect of these things is that this quickly becomes a "stay up far too late reading this one night" (as I did last night) "and far too late thinking about it the next" (as I'm sure to do tonight) book. It's mesmerizing. I was lucky enough once, in middle school, to spend the night at a zoo. I would love to do that now - to be given the chance to observe, to learn, to understand the zoo's behind-the-scenes routines and habits. I've wished that before since reaching adulthood, but more so now after reading Zoo Story.
I've accepted for some time that while I feel that I should have some moral indignation towards zoos, I just don't. In fact, while I understand that animals should be free and not subject to man's egotistical entertainment, I rather enjoy zoos. I love animals and I love the chance to observe them up close. I can't imagine a world in which a person could go their entire lives without ever seeing an elephant, or a lion, or an otter, or a python in person. I also agree with French's point that it is unfair to force the human idea of freedom onto nature. In a zoo, animals trade independence and free will for regular meals and consistently comfortable routine in a human-controlled environment. Which is better for the animal? Who's to say? These are among the questions French poses in this unbiased examination.
One thing is for sure: after reading this book, I'll never be able to go to the zoo without it in mind. And that right there - not just the behind the scenes info, not just the heartbreaking moments, not just the animals who are at times surprisingly full of personality, not just the intricately woven history of the zoo - that makes this book five stars.
The effect of these things is that this quickly becomes a "stay up far too late reading this one night" (as I did last night) "and far too late thinking about it the next" (as I'm sure to do tonight) book. It's mesmerizing. I was lucky enough once, in middle school, to spend the night at a zoo. I would love to do that now - to be given the chance to observe, to learn, to understand the zoo's behind-the-scenes routines and habits. I've wished that before since reaching adulthood, but more so now after reading Zoo Story.
I've accepted for some time that while I feel that I should have some moral indignation towards zoos, I just don't. In fact, while I understand that animals should be free and not subject to man's egotistical entertainment, I rather enjoy zoos. I love animals and I love the chance to observe them up close. I can't imagine a world in which a person could go their entire lives without ever seeing an elephant, or a lion, or an otter, or a python in person. I also agree with French's point that it is unfair to force the human idea of freedom onto nature. In a zoo, animals trade independence and free will for regular meals and consistently comfortable routine in a human-controlled environment. Which is better for the animal? Who's to say? These are among the questions French poses in this unbiased examination.
One thing is for sure: after reading this book, I'll never be able to go to the zoo without it in mind. And that right there - not just the behind the scenes info, not just the heartbreaking moments, not just the animals who are at times surprisingly full of personality, not just the intricately woven history of the zoo - that makes this book five stars.