The Tower, The Zoo and The Tortoise by Julia Stuart

By Annie on Aug 30, 2010 | Add a Comment

Something I love to do is write reviews of books I loved reading.  It somehows sums up the whole experience of enjoying the book. You read it, you love it so you write about it, hoping that others will love it as much as you did.  And the following book is so good!  And sometimes you pick a book for the beautiful cover...this has a beautiful cover and inside is a delectable treat.

THE TOWER, THE ZOO AND THE TORTOISE by Julia Stuart is a delightfully, quirky story that takes place at the Tower of London with odd characters with names like Balthazar and Hebe, and an unusual menagerie of animals like a huge tortoise named Mrs. Cook and the zorilla which produces a pungent odor when agitated.  Julia Stuart has written a wonderful story with these characters and their small lives within the Tower of London, full of the Beefeaters, the Ravenmaster, and brings the reader to see further into the sad life of Balthazar and his Greek wife Hebe. Sad, because they lost a son, Milo, at a young age and in their grief cannot bring themselves to talk about him, created an emotional cavern that cannot be closed.  Stuart writes with a bit of humor when the Queen desires to move animals gifted to her from other countries from the London Zoo to the Tower of London and all the penguins escape and the giraffes appear although it turns out they were not a gift from anyone.  Balthazar is put in charge of this zoo, a task he finds a bit overwhelming but nonetheless, takes very seriously, especially when all the animals escape!  Meanwhile, Hebe goes each day to her job at the London Underground Lost Property Office where she tries to reunite the owners with lost items such as an urn of ashes, a hand blown glass eye and many other items.  With grace and good writing, Stuart intertwines all these characters and their daily lives in her novel to the reader's delight.  For fans of THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL SOCIETY, you'll love this fun, charming read that makes you laugh and cry!