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.