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Community comment are the opinions of contributing users. These comment do not represent the opinions of Pima County Public Library.
May 26, 2012everydayathena rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I've got so many reserved books arriving for me at the library these days that when Jamrach's Menagerie arrived for me, I couldn't even remember what had compelled me to reserve the book in the first place. Initially I thought the book was going to be about a boy who works for a man who sells exotic animals - and it was, for a bit - but I was delighted that the tale eventually became one about a whaling ship. For one reason or another, I went through a strange nautical phase in my reading when I was in my 20's - indeed, Nathaniel Philbrick's "Into the Heart of the Sea" (the true story of the whaling ship Essex and its survivors) was one of my favourites at that time. Author Carol Birch touches on the story of the Essex in this novel - indeed, the sailors in this novel who jokingly sing of the dire choices that Essex's crew was forced to make in order to survive their ordeal at sea must later face the same predicament. (This is not a book for the faint of heart). With lush, riveting language, the author juxtaposes incredible humanity against the basest animal instincts - I felt like I was there in the lifeboat with the others.