#19: The Zoo on the Road to Nablus, Amelia Thomas

I was so excited to get this book - my city library didn't have it, and I had to request it through another route - but unfortunately, The Zoo on the Road to Nablus didn't live up to my expectations. I'd seen it in a publisher's catalogue some months ago and become intrigued with it mostly because of the title. The logic, however, is random: I loved, loved, loved Anita Diamant's The Red Tent and the city where Dinah is "stolen" (to be kind) is Shechem, or Nablus today. I tend to be pretty fascinated with how towns change through the eras, and this one has always stuck with me. Since it's not often that you see Nablus mentioned, I became intrigued.

So, back on topic...The Zoo on the Road to Nablus garnered generally good reviews, but I thought the book really lacked narrative tension. Reading a book is like riding a wave: You paddle out and pick the one you're going to ride, then you get carried along as it builds, builds, builds until the wave finally breaks in one glorious, crazy moment. Not this book, though: Thomas just kept paddling and never picked her wave.

The book is about the Qalqilya Zoo in the West Bank, the only public zoo in Palestinian territory. The zoo's dedicated veterinarian, Dr. Sami Khader, dreams of turning it into an international zoo - and while it's a noble cause, the idea doesn't seem feasible and makes Khader immediately appear naive. But that's okay, the region is in for some rough times; the problem is, the goal never gets replaced with a more realistic path and as a result, there's no trail laid out for the reader. Multiple times I wondered where the book was heading, as the situation became more dire. And what happens in the end? I would say that things are worse at the end than at the beginning: The sheep and remaining giraffe have been poisoned, the camel's been shot, and Khader doesn't get his promotion or pay increase. And while a happy ending isn't essential (and can't be forced), I never felt like she offered any great lesson that emerged from the bad times, either.

So my advice? Read Babylon's Ark instead.