The Berlin Zookeeper (previously known as The Zookeeper’s Daughter) was published in 2021 and immediately captured my attention. It seemed it would combine my love of historical fiction and my love of animals.
I enjoy reading books based in the 20th century especially those set during the second world war. I’ve particularly enjoyed novels that focus on the women who were left behind, including The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz, The Night Train To Berlin and The Yellow Bird Sings. The Berlin Zookeeper sounded like the perfect read for me.
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Plot
The Berlin Zookeeper is based on true events in Berlin during the second world war. Back in 1943, Katharina Heinroth and her husband Oskar are working at Berlin Zoo, trying to protect the workers and animals from the effects of the war. With bombs destroying so much of what they hold dear, they struggle to keep their zoofamilie safe.
In the present day, Bethan gets the opportunity to work at the famous Berlin Zoo. This is both a professional dream and a personal one. Bethan previously discovered that her mother, Jana, was “gifted” to her grandmother just after the war. Bethan’s grandmother Erika confesses on her deathbed that she is not Jana’s biological mother. Jana begins to unravel the mystery of her parentage until she also becomes ill, and passes without ever finding out the truth.
Bethan has only a list of names, which all bring her to Berlin Zoo. Intent on solving her family mystery, Bethan sets about uncovering the secrets of what really happened in Berlin over 75 years ago.
The Berlin Zookeeper Book Review
The Berlin Zookeeper is based on real people and true events during the war. I loved reading about Katharina Heinroth and the strength and loyalty she showed not only to her friends and husband but also to the animals she considered family. Katharina’s story is not one I was previously familiar with and found myself researching more about this amazing woman after I finished the story.
I also liked that the book was told from the perspective of innocent German civilians. I’ve read a lot of WW2 fiction and other than The Book Thief, the stories I’ve read tend to revolve around either British or French civilians.
I do usually enjoy a family mystery, and I felt the topic was done well within Madame Burova and The Glass House, as was the switching of timelines. However, with The Berlin Zookeeper, I found the transition between timelines a little jarring. The story is told over two timelines, one from the perspective of Katharina during the war, and another from Bethan in the present day. In one chapter I was reading about the horrors of the war and young women facing death either from bombs or from childbirth. In the next, I was reading about Bethan grumbling about her boyfriend.
The sections set in the 1940s were moving and poignant and I loved the camaraderie and bravery shown by the members of the zoofamilie. In contrast, I found Bethan’s problems rather insignificant and I struggled to become emotionally invested in any of her relationships. It was hard to care about her petty romantic issues when a few pages earlier I was reading about women putting their lives at risk to protect those they love.
I would have preferred the story to be told in a more linear format and to have just focused on the events in the 1940s. I appreciate that the author is trying to show what happened to the baby that went on to be Bethan’s mother, but I just didn’t find the switching of timelines worked as well as it should have. I much preferred the chapters written from Katharina’s point of view, and I loved the sisterhood and strong friendships between the women left behind.
Having said all that, I am glad I read the book. Katharina Heinroth was an amazing woman and it has inspired me to want to visit Berlin Zoo myself. I just would have preferred more Katharina, and less Bethan!
What to read next
If you enjoyed The Berlin Zookeeper by Anna Stuart, you may also enjoy The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and The Clockmaker’s Wife by Daisy Wood.
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. For more information please see my disclosure policy.