The book The Zoo Keepers Wife starts out talking about a zoo in Poland. Jan and Antonina are the owners of the zoo. The first chapter shows that Antonina is really close with the animals. I think this is very interesting. Anatonina shows such a close relationship with the animals it almost seems as though she is a part of them. Her husband describes her by saying, "She's so sensitive, she's almost able to read their minds. . . . She becomes them. . . . She has a precise and very special gift, a way of observing and understanding animals that's rare, a sixth sense. . . It's been this way since she was little"(26). The fact that Antonina in a sense becomes the animals makes me think that there are probably people in the world today that have this rare gift. I also have a feeling that this special gift will come in handy later in the book. She uses her skills when they open the box of kittens and they start hissing she says, "Human hands with so many moving fingers scare them, and our loud voices and the sharp light from the lamp"(27). Right away when they start hissing Antonina explains to Jan, her husband, what is wrong and exactly how the kittens are feeling. Anatonina can use her gift to interpret exactly how the animals feel, and by changing it, she helps the animals.
Jan and Antonina seem like really good zookeepers. They are definatly fit for the job. "Antonina and Jan had learned to live on seasonal time, not mere chronicity. Like most humas, they did abide by clocks, but their routine was never quite routine, made up as it was of compatible realities, one attuned to animals, the other to humans"(20). This shows that Antonina and Jan change their schedules to help the animals. Antonina and Jan basically devote their lives to these animals living in the zoo. "The Zabinskis shared their home with orphaned newborn or sick animals, as well as pets, and the feeding adn schooling of lodgers fell to Antonina, whose animal wards clamored to be fed"(23). The Zabinskis so as far as keeping animals in their house, this demonstrates their love and care for animals. Not many people would be willing to keep part of a zoo within their own house and have the animals walk freely. The Zabinskis treat the animals at their zoo like children. The Zabinskis are very good zookeepers and I am excited to see what happens in the rest of the book.
Ackerman, Diane. The Zookeeper's Wife. New York, NY: Norton paperback, 2008.
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2 comments:
Interesting choice in book. I can only imagine the read it will be. One of my favorite things about you post was the amount of quotes you used. My favorite quote was when Anatonina was describing the way a close relationship with the animals made it seem as though she was a part of them! Have fun with this book, i look forward to reading more about it.
This sound like a fun read, sometimes it's nice to read about people who are less known versus famous people. The Zabinskis seem to be very good zoo keepers. I agree with Mikayla about your quotes, they give you a good sense of the book without even reading any of it. It is nice they are willing to do so much for the animals especially since Anatonina is able to read them so well. Look forward to hearing more.
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